Sunshine
by Aleavon
Summary: Human High School AU where Will and Nico are assigned to work on a band project together. They get to know each other through all that time, and after a while, they might even... fall in love?
1. Maybe Tomorrow

Will stood awkwardly next to Nico's chair in Band, nervously tapping his fingers on the top of Nico's music stand. He swore that he could feel waves of darkness radiating off of Nico, saying that he wanted to be left alone. After a long moment, Will finally cleared his throat and spoke.

"Well, I guess we're partners, so if we're going to get anything done, we should get started..."

Nico just sat there, slouched in his chair, not making eye contact. His dark waves were draped over his eyes, giving him a mysterious, "don't mess with me" look that made Will feel... intrigued to say the least. He had been watching the boy from a distance since he first saw him slouched in the chair furthest away from the front, and Will would shyly glance over at him every now and then.

Nico would probably never had met Will had Will not asked the Band teacher for Nico as a partner. He was once popular, after all. But Nico didn't seem to want to be the center of attention.

Enough about his past. Right now, Will was standing right in front of Nico, and if he didn't say something, he was bound to be doomed. Will tried to think of something to say, but could only think of the project.

"Hey, Nico. It's just a music project. If you really don't want to be partners with me, I guess you could always ask for a change... But then you'd have to go through Mr. Assington-" Will coughs. "I mean, Mr. Brassington."

Nico tilted his head slightly up so that he could look at Will through his dark, messy mop of hair. Will couldn't see Nico's eyes through his hair but at least he could tell Nico was looking at him.

"It's fine," Nico grumbled, sighing. "I guess I can put up with you for a week or two."

Nico looked back down at his black skinny jeans, trying to ignore Will. Nico didn't want anyone to disturb his peace... especially not Will. Not after the last time someone tried to... help him.

But even through Nico's gloomy demeanor, Will grinned broadly, showing off his pearly white teeth. Will was determined to befriend Nico.

"C'mon! It won't be that bad... I promise I won't bother you... too much."

He sighed and looked down at the sheet music on the music stand. He couldn't read a note of it.

"Anyways, I'm kind of screwed if you won't help. I'm only taking Band because my dad's making me. He's all into the arts, spewing haikus and odes here and there, and then randomly bursting into song. But I want to be a doctor... I also need the art credits..."

Will realized he had been rambling, and shut his mouth, hoping to make the situation less awkward.

"Well, could we at least plan something out?" Will tried to coax Nico into saying a bit more so that maybe he might be able to make some kind of connection.

Nico finally looked up at Will. Will had never noticed how pretty di Angelo's eyes were before. They were dark brown, drawing you in, but still soft, like a welcoming cup of hot chocolate.

"Why do you even want to work with me anyways? Most people know to stay away from me. Why don't you?" Nico half-glared, half-questioned Will with the look in his eyes.

Will ran his fingers through his hair. There really wasn't anything to say except the truth... so he replied, "Well, I just want to get to know you better, you know? Get to be friends, maybe..."

Nico sighed, and stood up. Inside, he was intrigued. Rarely did people try to even be around him, much less talk to him or befriend him. Last time that happened... hopefully couldn't be any worse this time.

"Okay, fine." Nico gave in to the pleading look on Will's face as he replied, "We can meet up at my house tomorrow, since it's Saturday, and I won't have anything else planned."

Will immediately perked up and grinned. Nico pulled an index card out of his binder, scribbled something on it, and handed it to Will.

"Here's my address. Just come over when you're ready to work. And don't forget to bring your instrument. See ya."

The bell rang, and Nico grabbed his stuff and walked out the classroom. Will just stood there, with a fluttery feeling in his chest.


	2. A Rude Awakening

The Next Morning

"Ding-Ding-Ding-Ding-Ding-Ding-Ding-Ding-Ding Dong! Ding-Ding-Ding-Ding Dong!"

Nico groaned and rolled out of his sheets, tossing aside his warm, welcoming covers while clutching his ears. Who in the world would be up at this ungodly hour?

"Ding-Ding-Ding-Ding-Ding-Ding-Ding-Ding-Ding Dong! Ding-Ding-Ding-Ding Dong!"

There it was again.

Suddenly, he remembered giving his address to Will so that they could work on their project together... Nico hadn't expected Will to come so early though. And no one else would be awake at yet. "Ugh, I bet it's Will... So annoying..."

Half awake, Nico clambered out of his bed, hopped around on the freezing floor, and finally pulled on a sweater and jeans to run to get the door.

"Nico, someone's terrorizing the doorbell. Can you see who's out there?" Hades's voice emanated from the hallway. Nico's dad opened his bedroom door, cursing under his breath.

"I'm going, Dad. It's Will."

"Who?"

But Nico was already stumbling down the stairs and zipping up his jeans. He walked up to the blood red door and turned the handle, and there was Will, standing in the doorway at exactly 7:00 in the morning.

"Good morning Nico!" Will brightly said as Nico opened the door. He chuckled as Nico rubbed his eyes and squinted in the morning light.

"What are you doing here so early? It's still early. Look, it's not even noon yet." Nico demanded, gesturing to Will's watch. Nico slowly started to close the door when Will stuck his head in the crack.

"You did say I could come over when I was ready to work. I brought all my stuff. See?"

And sure enough, Will had brought an huge tote bag full of pens, paper, dry erase boards, Expo markers, a metronome, and his guitar strapped to his back.

Nico groaned, and opened the door to let Will in.

"Maybe next time you can just ring the door bell once? Waking up to the sound of someone banging on your doorbell is definitely not the best way to wake up. I was actually sleeping."

Will grinned.

"Well I wasn't completely sure if you were awake yet, so I wanted to make sure that you got up..."

The tips of Will's ears turned a light shade of pink.

"Well, you woke me up alright. Let's get started then."

Nico led Will into his blandly furnished living room, set up a folding table, and told Will to set his stuff up as Nico got ready for the day. As soon as Will saw Nico stumble upstairs, he cracked a small smile and started to fix up his things.

Once Nico returned, Will had his things and Nico sat down next to him on the couch to plan out their project.

A few hours later, Will and Nico had finished a considerable amount of pre-project work(Nico constantly questioning Will's knowledge of music theory while practically inhaling donuts), and soon, it was noon. Will's stomach rumbled, startling the both of them.

"Well, I'm hungry. Want to go out to eat somewhere?" Will turned to Nico, hoping for something to focus on OTHER than the black and white music sheets.

"I don't know. I don't usually get out much, and if I do eat out, it's usually McDonalds or some Italian restaurant somewhere." Nico scoffed at his own taste in food. It went from one end of the spectrum to the other.

Will frowned and looked Nico square in the eye.

"You mean, you've never been to the best restaurant in the world? C'mon, I've got to take you there! We can take the bus, it isn't far from here."

Will basically dragged Nico out of the room and into the hallway.

"Dad? I'm eating out with Will for lunch. I'll be back in a while."

Nico's dad looked down at the two from the second-floor balcony, still in a bathrobe. He must not have gotten dressed yet. Sometimes, he was even more of a night owl than Nico was.

"Did you bring money?" His dad managed to ask, scratching his dribbled chin as his eyes adjusted to the much brighter scene.

Nico rolled his eyes and replied, "Well how else am I supposed to buy food? Of course I brought money."

Nico's dad's lips twitched slightly upwards at the sight of Will pushing Nico out of the front door.

"Well, have fun!" Hades turned around and retreated into his dark domain once again for an hour or two of sleep.


	3. Family Memories

Will pushed Nico to the bus stop, and they got on. Will immediately ran to the back of the bus, and hopped into the window seat, Nico sliding in next to him. And there they sat for the next few minutes.

To break the silence, Will turned to Nico and asked, "I haven't met your mom yet. What's she like?"

Nico's demeanor suddenly became gloomier, if that was even possible. His hair seemed to sweep back down over his eyes as if it had a mind of his own, leaving Nico with a dark, mourning look.

"She died in an explosion a few years ago." He whispered, the words so quiet that they were like a ghost of something that had once been alive.

Will's eyes widened, his hand flying to his mouth as if trying to prevent the pervading words from ever coming out of his mouth.

"I-I'm sorry for bringing it up... I didn't know..." Will stammered, not sure what to say.

Something in Nico pushed him to keep talking, but Nico pushed it down. He couldn't just trust someone he basically just met with his secrets, could he? But Will was the first person in a long time to even ask about his family. There was something about Will just made Nico want to tell his whole life story, and before he knew it, he was talking again.

"We were on vacation in Italy, and we were just checking out of our hotel when a bomb in the lobby exploded... My mom... she didn't make it."

Will just looked at him, as if sensing his sadness. Nico kept talking, looking at his hands as he did so.

"I-I had an older sister too. My dad, Bianca, and I were still grieving over Mom when Bianca decided to go on a trip with a couple of her friends to San Francisco. But along the way, an accident happened, and Bianca..."

Nico's eyes welled with tears. His voice cracked on Bianca's name and he had to stop talking or else he'd be crying again. He really didn't need to remember that she was gone... not here... not now.

Will laid his hand on top of Nico's, as if to comfort Nico. A jolt of electricity ran through Nico, and he pulled his hand away.

Nico looked down, and blushed, ashamed. Here was someone who had tried to help him, and he ended up pushing them away again.

"Sorry, but... I don't like being touched..."

Will jumped back, surprised that he was even touching Nico.

"Oh, sorry. That was sorta a reflex... I guess. I just don't like seeing people hurt."

Nico almost smiled, but stopped himself before he could. What was he doing? What was this boy doing to him? He shook it off and replied with two words,

"It's fine."

Will bit his lip and looked out the window, still feeling guilty about bringing up a touchy subject. Suddenly, he brightened up and stood, tapping Nico on the shoulder.

"Hey, look, we're here!"

When the bus stopped, Will dragged Nico off the seat, and with a quick "thank you" to the bus driver, got off the bus.

Nico looked at the sign, then turned and gave Will an inquiring look.

"Seriously Will? Chuck E. Cheese's? This isn't a restaurant!"

Will grinned sheepishly and shrugged. "Hey, they serve good food. Pizza and juice and all that good stuff!" He laughed, jostling Nico lightly. "It may not be healthy but once in a while isn't bad, right?"

They walked in and spent the next few hours stuffing their faces with junk food and playing arcade games.

At 3 o'clock, Nico remembered why Will had woken him up at 7 am, and went to find Will to go back and work on the project.

Will was holding two huge stuffed animals when Nico found him at the prize booth.

"Aww... do we have to go?" Will whined, clutching the plushies tightly. "I only got two prizes!"

"We still have a project due in two weeks, ya know..."

Will groaned, and turned away from the prizes.

"Oh yeah. I forgot all about that. Okay, let's go."

This time, it was Will's turn to be dragged out of Chuck E. Cheese's as Nico hurriedly walked to the bus stop to board the bus back to Nico's house.


	4. Sunshine, Rainbows, and Happy Things

They got back and started planning out what they would do, and decided on making a music video for their project. What song they were going to do, they had no idea. So they sat there and talked. Nico sat at the desk in his room, and Will lay on the carpeted floor.

Will hopped off the bus with Nico close behind him, and they walked back to Nico's house. The sun was shining brightly, and the rays made Will's golden locks and perfectly tanned skin gleam. He could easily be a model or an actor from Hollywood. He walked down the sidewalk, shining and smiling, while Nico was the exact opposite, slouching and frowning behind Will like a shadow.

Nico opened the front door and walked in, looking up at the balcony. His dad was there, looking down at him and Will, and then walked back into his room. Nico and Will walked up to Nico's room, and kept brainstorming on what they were going to do. They had already decided that they would both sing, and Will would play the guitar. Nico played the clarinet, but they weren't sure how they would be able to write music with both a clarinet and a guitar.

"So... What should we do? Should we perform live? I think that would be fun! Then the entire class gets to see you sing!" Will beamed.

Nico glared at Will and rolled his eyes.

"I'm not singing unless I know what I'm singing first. I don't want to end up singing some old country song. And I'm definitely not going to sing in front of everyone."

What if they laugh? What if I mess up? What if I suddenly have a voice crack? It's just a project... But people will think I can't sing... It would be so embarrassing! So many thoughts ran through Nico's head. He was definitely not going to sing in front of the class.

"Well, we could...write a piece of music-"

Nico shook the thoughts away. Focus.

"Nope. I can't compose things. Next?"

"Um... Ooh! We could cover something! And make a music video, so you'll get to learn the song before you perform!" Will looked at Nico full of hope.

"Hm... That doesn't sound too bad... or mortifying. Why don't we do that?"

"Yeah!"

Will started jotting down notes, and neither one of them made a sound. Soon, Will put down his pencil, and it was quiet. A bit too quiet. Nico was really uncomfortable, even though he was in his "home turf", his room.

Suddenly, Nico blurted out, "Why are you so... sunny all the time?"

Will rolled over and looked at him. "What? What do you mean?"

Nico blushed, running his hands through his hair.

"Well, you're always happy all the time, smiling and laughing, and sometimes it feels like you're a mini-sun, spreading happiness and rainbows everywhere. Why?"

Will sat up, and stared at the ash-gray wall of Nico's bedroom.

"I don't know... I'm not always like that inside. I guess it's kind of like... I don't want anyone to be sad or angry just because I am."

Nico looked at the blonde, curly mop of hair that glinted with the afternoon sunlight.

"Well that's the complete opposite of what I am."

Both boys fell silent.

"So... What song do you want to do?" Will said, trying to promote conversation.

Nico shrugged, blinking a couple of times and then propping his head up with his arm.

"I have no idea."

Nico yawned, stretching out his arms, and then lay his head in his arms.

"You know, I'm still tired from you waking me up at the buttcrack of dawn. I'm going to take a nap."

As Nico started to close his eyes, he heard Will humming a familiar tune. It made him think of his mom and his sister. Nico was struck with a pang of sadness.

"You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. You make me happy when skies are grey. You'll never know, dear, how much I love you. Please don't take my sunshine away..."

And Nico fell asleep.


	5. The Split

"Nico... Wake up!"

Nico felt himself being gently shaken, but it was so cozy... and warm...

"Nico... It's been like three hours. You should get up now..."

Nico groaned and rubbed his eyes. Will was looking down at him, and he was... in his bed?

"I moved you from your desk. That couldn't have been a comfortable position to sleep in."

Will smiled, standing up straight and then leaning against the mahogany bedpost.

"But wow, you sleep like a log. I had to shake you like five times, and I even had to take away your pillow."

Will internally smiled. Nico was so... adorable while he was sleeping. His worry lines disappeared, and he even smiled once or twice while he was dreaming. If only he would smile at Will while he was awake...

"C'mon, we've got to work."

Nico sat up and cocked his head sideways. He remembered that Will was singing something that... strangely reminded him of his mom.

"Right before I fell asleep, I heard you singing a song... what was that song? I think we could use it."

"Oh." Will blushed. "You haven't heard it? It's called 'You Are My Sunshine'."

Nico thought for a moment, then pulled out a piece of notebook paper.

"Well, sing it for me. Maybe we can write some music for it."

Will beamed, and started singing. Nico scrawled out the music notes by ear onto the paper, and soon, they had the entire melody written out.

Nico dropped his pencil and scrutinized the sheet laying in front of him.

"Well, that was the easy part. Now we have to write parts for our instruments. Clarinet should be pretty easy for me, because I play it. But I don't know anything about guitars..."

Will ruffled Nico's hair and grinned.

"Leave that to me. I've been playing this thing for years!" Will paused and looked at the wall. "Not that I'm any good at it, but at least I know how the music works..."

He picked up the pencil and started planning out chords to harmonize with the vocal parts. Nico grabbed another pencil from the pencil holder on his desk, and started writing the part for his clarinet.

After two hours of work, Will looked up at the clock, and jumped up.

"Oh crap, I have to go home and pack! I'm going to my dad's house today. But I'll get to see Phoebus again."

Nico looked up from their hand-written sheet music. _Who was Phoebus?_, he wondered. Was it some other friend he had? A family member? Someone... like a boyfriend?

"Going to your dad's house... Your parents are divorced?"

Will took a sudden interest in the desk lamp.

"Yeah... It's sorta been on and off, but I guess things didn't really work out for them."

He shook his head, as if clearing his head of the sad thoughts, and cheered up a bit.

"That means I won't be able to come over tomorrow. I think we can still work in class though."

Nico sighed.

"Well that means we won't have to go to Chuck E. Cheese's again for three hours."

Will pouted. He picked up one of his huge stuffed animals and hugged it.

"But it was fun! You had fun too, right?"

Nico cracked a small smile.

"Yeah, I guess so. Well, I'll see you in class on Monday."

Will grinned and tossed one of the stuffed animals at Nico.

"Not if I see you first!"

He packed up his things, with Nico lending a hand or two, and then Will walked out the door.


	6. Meet Phoebus

That night, Nico lay in his bed, wondering what had driven him to tell Solace about his past. Maybe he did want him as a friend.

Something inside his chest tingled, thinking about how cheerful Will was all the time, and how the sunlight glinted on his golden curls... Nico mentally slapped himself.

_You can't let this go the way it did with Percy. Besides, you don't even know if he likes guys... But if he did... what would I do? Do I have feelings for him? Or is this something else. He does care about me... He tries not to hurt me... But will I hurt him? _Nico sighed, rolled over, and went to sleep.

A week passed, and the two got to know each other better while working at the library during lunch. Nico thought that maybe they knew each other a little better than projectmates should. Nico told Will stories about his sister and his mom, and Will opened up more about his parents and his siblings. He had three little sisters, Callie, Cora, and Daphne. Usually, the girls would stay with one parent, and Will would stay with the other parent. Will was staying with his dad for the next few weeks. So, they decided to meet up at Will's dad's house next Saturday.

When Nico rang the doorbell to Will's house at 9, Will immediately opened the door, and let Nico in. Will led Nico into a brightly illuminated hallway as he turned a curiously sun-shaped doorknob.

All of the project materials were set up in a small study room that branched off from the hallway, and Nico was the only thing that was missing.

He blushed, realizing that Will was probably waiting for him for a long time. Nico had missed the first bus that would have took him to Will's house, so he had to wait another 15 minutes or so to catch the next one. And seeing as Will arrived at Nico's house at 7 o'clock... He must have been up for a long time.

A very, very energetic golden retriever came bounding out of the kitchen and jumped on Nico, almost knocking him over. Nico bent down to meet him. He trotted up to Nico, sniffed him, and then licked Nico's hand.

"This is Phoebus, my golden retriever. Isn't he adorable? You can pet him."

Nico couldn't help but feel relieved as he gently stroked Phoebus' fur. _Phoebus is just a dog... No need to be paranoid about that anymore. _After a minute or two of brushing his fingers through fur that was just as soft and golden as Will's hair, he stood up and walked over to the study room and sat down at the desk where Will was waiting for him.

"Miss me?" Will asked jokingly.

_Yes, and everything about you,_ he said in his mind. Where did that come from? Nico mentally slapped himself again.

"As if. Let's get to work." Nico grumbled.

Will made a fake pout, and they started to write the instrumental accompaniment. Every now and then, Will would pick out a few notes on his guitar.

At noon, they stopped for a quick lunch break. Will made both of them sandwiches. Nico and Will wolfed them down hungrily, and then continued working, determined to create the best project they had ever had.


	7. Alone Together

Tired of sitting in front of the desk, Will got up to walk around and roam. He whistled, and Phoebus came running into the room, jumping up on Will. Will sat down on the carpeted floor, absent-mindedly running his fingers through the dog's fur.

Nico turned to look at him. What was he thinking about? Was he thinking about the project? Or... was he thinking about something else... like Nico? He threw that thought out of his mind. _He can't possibly like me. We're practically opposites. But then again, opposites attract... Stop thinking like this! _Nico stretched, and returned to planning out the rest of the sheet music. Suddenly, Will's dad peeked in the room.

"Will?"

Will looked up at his dad. Nico saw that Will was basically a younger version of his dad, with the same blue eyes, surfer's body, perfect tan, golden hair... What was he doing? Will was just a friend... right?

"Yeah? What?"

"I'm going to have to out for a while, so that means you two are going to be home alone. Are you alright with that?"

"Yeah, sure. I've been home by myself before. I think I can handle myself."

Will shed his brooding manner and grinned at Nico.

"Now I don't know about Nico... Just make sure you hide the matches before you go!"

Will and his dad both burst into laughter. Nico blushed, looking down at the carpet. He was going to be alone. In an entire house. With _Solace._ What were the odds?

"Well, it's nice to see you doing something musical for once. Maybe you'll be able to become a songwriter on the side when you become a doctor."

Will's air shifted, becoming more reserved and reluctant.

"I doubt it. But I might play for fun..."

Will's dad nodded at Will, as if in agreement, then stood up straight and proceeded to walk out the door.

"Well, I'm leaving now, see you two later!"

Will's dad walked out of Will's room, and then the room was silent.

"Well... We're almost done with the sheet music, wanna chill for a bit?"

Will looked at Nico questioningly, and then got up.

"We can watch a movie or something. I've got Netflix."

Will grinned. How could Nico resist that smile? _No, Nico_, he chided himself. _You cannot be falling for him. Not now. Just... Try to act normal._

"Okay, but I'm picking the movie."

They both stood up, Phoebus barking, and dashed out of the room.


	8. Nico's Little Secret

**Author's Note: **Wow, thanks for all of your feedback! You guys are awesome :) I really enjoy seeing what you think of what I'm writing! Also, this chapter is a mini climax, so it's longer than most of the other ones! Feel free to let me know if you have any suggestions/questions! XD Happy Reading! - Aleavon

P.S. I figured out how to add the HR, so now I can leave notes XD

* * *

They ran through the hallway, Nico grinning evilly, and they plopped down on the couch. Will handed Nico the remote, expecting him to pick Psycho or something. Will raised his eyebrows when Nico selected Tangled. Will smirked at Nico while Nico glared straight back.

"No one else is to know about this, you hear me, Solace?"

"What? Your secret obsession with Disney? I wouldn't dream of it!"

He chuckled and started the movie.

Nico didn't pay as much attention to the movie as he did to Will's reactions to what happened. Truth be told, he hadn't just picked this movie just because he wanted to see it. After all, Nico had already watched this movie over and over... but he couldn't but help imagining Will as Rapunzel, with his mane of glowing golden hair... And himself as Flynn, the awkward but charming outcast that shows Rapunzel the world.

Watching Will react to the movie was probably even better that watching the movie itself. Even though Nico was (almost) already used to Will's bubbly personality, he wasn't prepared for the side of Will that came out while he was watching movies. While they were watching the romantic scenes, Will would squeal like a fangirl and bounce up and down on the couch cushions. During the dramatic, suspense-filled parts, he would draw his legs up to his chest in the fetal position, clasping his hands together in worry. During the scary parts, he would pick up a pillow and squeeze the stuffing out of it.

But what truly surprised Nico was when Will's hand found its way to Nico's hand. During the scene where Flynn died, Will grabbed Nico's left hand, pulled it across his body, and squeezed it to his chest, and from the uneven shakes of his chest, Nico realized that Will was silently sobbing. Nico couldn't help but blush at the unexpected physical contact. He ruffled Will's hair with his right hand.

"Will... It's okay. Keep watching..."

Will sniffled.

"B-but he's dead. Her mom killed him... HE'S DEADDD..." Will started bawling.

Nico, surprised, released his hand and put his arm around Will's shoulders, even though Will was a full head taller than him. He leaned his head against Will's, and tried to calm him down.

"Shh... watch. Watch what happens."

Will complied, teary-eyed, and looked back at the screen.

"OHMIGOD WHAT WHAT WHAT OMG WHAT IS HAPPENING WHY IS HE GLOWING...?" Will suddenly stopped crying and freaked out, jumping back into the couch.

Nico smiled knowingly, still blushing from his arm draped over Will's shoulders. Will watched in fascination as Flynn was healed by Rapunzel's tears, and he gasped when Flynn opened his eyes.

"OH MY GOD HE'S ALIVE HE'S ALIVE!"

Will, overjoyed because his favorite character didn't die after all, turned to hug Nico. And Nico blushed an even darker shade of red. After a shocked moment, Nico put his arms around Will too.

Nico whispered into Will's ear, "If I had known you would react to the movie like this, I would have watched it with you a long time ago."

Will suddenly realized that he was hugging Nico, and jumped back.

"Oh my gosh I forgot that you didn't like touching I'm sooo sorry but I was really happy and-"

Will abruptly stopped and blushed. It felt like the entire house was silent, even though the movie was still playing. Nico wasn't sure how to react.

"It's okay. I don't mind too much anymore..."

Nico scratched his hair. It suddenly got really awkward...

"Um... I've been thinking... I had a lot of fun with you the other day when we went out to eat, and I was wondering... Would you do that again? With me?" Nico mumbled.

Will stared at him in shock.

"Really? You really thought that was fun?"

By now neither of the two boys were paying attention to the movie credits scrolling on the screen.

Nico looked up at Will and a ghost of a smile formed on his lips.

"Yeah, I did. And... Thanks for sticking by me... I guess.. I'm not sure why I told you all that stuff about my family... and my past... but-"

Will cut him off, putting his hand on top of Nico's again.

"Shh... it's okay. I understand."

They sat there, holding hands, in silence.


	9. Little Gifts

**Author's Note**: This could be the last chapter... I may extend it, but this is where I planned on ending it when I first started... :(

* * *

It had been a couple minutes since the end of the movie, and the end credits had just finished scrolling down. They still sat there, drinking in the other's presence and intertwining their fingers. Nico cleared his throat.

"Well, we really should work on our project now..." Nico mumbled.

"Oh, right!" Will jumped up, letting go of Nico's hand. It made Nico snap out of his little daydream, and he realized that he missed the warmth from Will's hand in his, even though he had only felt it for a short time. He got up from the couch and walked back into the hallway

The two of them returned to the cramped study room, not talking, and sat back down at Will's desk. After a few hours of working, as if nothing had happened during the movie, Will asked the question Nico was hoping he didn't have to answer.

"Did you really mean that you'd want to go to a restaurant with me again?" Will was facing the wall, still resting his guitar on his lap, even though he hadn't even strummed a single chord on it for an hour.

Nico turned, surprised. "I mean... yeah, if you'd want me to.

"About eating out... Does it count as a date?" Will asked innocently, and when he turned, Nico saw that he did so with a grin plastered to his face.

Nico blushed.

"W-what do you mean?"

"I mean, are you asking me out?"

Nico turned a shade of red that would rival that of an apple.

"I guess, if you want it to..."

He looked down at the ground, the tips of his ears burning.

Will visibly brightened.

"Well, I'll see you tomorrow then! I hope you'll be awake... otherwise..."

Will grinned devilishly and pantomimed repeatedly ringing a doorbell.

"No! Not the doorbell!" Nico groaned.

Nico looked up at the clock, and realized that it was getting late, almost 9 o'clock.

"I've got to go home now, my dad expected me to be back hours ago!"

Will pouted.

"But we haven't finished the project yet!"

"Well, we still have another week. Plus we can work during class and during lunch."

Will sighed, getting up to walk Nico to the door.

"Okay..."

He stopped right before the door, smiling and holding his hands behind his back.

"Nico?"

"Yeah?"

"I have something to give you."

"What is it?"

Will leaned forward until his nose was almost touching Nico's. Nico started blushing again.

"This."

Will took his hands out from behind his back, wrapped his arms around Nico, picked him up, and spun him around. Nico smiled, and returned the hug. Finally Will let Nico go, and kissed him on the forehead.

"See you tomorrow... Nico."

"S-see you..."

Nico opened the door and was about to walk out, and then turned around to face Will.

"Sunshine."


	10. Sunglasses and Sass

**Author's Note:** So I decided I'd continue, but I may not be updating as often... :( I'll maybe update every one or two days? Love you guys! 3

* * *

The Next Morning:

Nico felt something drawing him out of his realm of darkness, and his dreams slowly started to fade away. He cracked his eyelids open to see a golden blur in his face.

"Mmph... I don't want to get up..."

"C'mon Nico, wake up! The sun is shining, the birds are singing, and the Will Solace wants you to get your sleepy butt out of bed so we can go do stuff!"

Nico was shaken roughly and he was hit in the head, multiple times, with a pillow. He groaned and rolled onto his back.

"WAKE UPPPPPPPPPPPPP!" The loudest shriek Nico had ever heard cut through his mind, and his eyes flew open.

Nico blinked away the bits of sleep in his eyes and looked bleary-eyed up at the invader of his peaceful slumber. Will's sky-blue eyes locked onto his, gleaming in mirth.

"Huh? WHAT? OMG WILL HOW DID YOU GET INTO MY HOUSE?" Nico sprang up, surprised.

Will held up a keychain with a black leather squishy thingy and Nico's house key in his hand. He grinned broadly and tried not to laugh.

"You left your keys at my house. I found them on the kitchen table this morning, and I thought that you'd want them back... so here I am!"

Nico groaned. He just remembered that last night, he didn't even use his keys to get in. His dad was already waiting for Nico to come home, and asked him about his "date" with his "boyfriend". Nico emphasized the fact that no, Will and Nico were not dating, and that they were working on a project. But he didn't mention at all the events that were preceded by the movie.

Will waved his hand in front of Nico's face.

"Hey, at least I wasn't banging on the doorbell. Besides, your dad tried to throw a statue of a dog at me when he first saw me coming in, before I explained what happened."

Will gestured to the hallway that connected Nico's bedroom to the main part of the house. His dad was standing just inside of the door frame, trying not to smile.

"Dadd... why did you let him in...I wanted to sleep in... What time is it?"

"7 o'clock on the dot. He just barged right in at 6:58 and I almost smashed his face in before he screamed at me saying that you left your keys at his house. And it's a good thing too, otherwise you wouldn't be able to look at his pretty face anymore."

Hades wiggled his eyebrows, slid on a pair of sunglasses and strutted out of Nico's room. Nico rolled his eyes and sighed.

"He's not always like that, but when he is, he drives me nuts. It's like he's trying to out-sass me or something. Now get out of my room so I can get dressed."

Nico pushed Will out of his room, and closed the door. He pulled on a pair of black sweatpants(something other than skinny jeans for once), put on his aviator's jacket (the one he had since he was who-knows-how old) and opened the door to Will standing with his back to Nico's door.

"I'm ready."


	11. A Jacket Would Help

Will turned around with his arms crossed and a grumpy look on his face. He stepped into the room and plopped down on Nico's bed.

"About time too..."

Nico coughed into his fist, and his eyelids started drooping. Maybe he hadn't woken up all the way just yet...He shook his head. Focus.

"Well, it's too early to have lunch, and that's what I had planned for today. What did you want with me this early in the morning?"

Will cocked his head to the side and shrugged.

"I thought maybe we could just hang out or something, or we could go watch another movie?"

Nico thought for a moment, and then jumped up.

"We could go to the park...It should be pretty empty this time of year."

Nico's mind drifted to a sudden daydream.

"_Higher! Higher!" Nico laughed with excitement. Will grunted and pushed Nico even higher on the swings. "Weeeee...!" Nico started pumping his legs back and forth while Will sat on the swing to his right. In no time, he was soaring alongside Nico. Will grinned daringly and held out one hand to Nico..._

"Hey, Nico? Are you listening?"

Nico shook his head furiously to shake the images out of his mind. He couldn't keep daydreaming about Will, especially when he was standing right in front of him...

"Sorry, I zoned out. What?"

Will sighed and pointed out the window in Nico's room.

"I said, it's too cold to go outside. Can't you see the snow? I'm gonna freeze to death!"

Nico eyed Will suspiciously. He was wearing an orange t-shirt and jeans.

"Well why are you wearing that then? Can't you just dress warmly?"

Will blinked at Nico.

"What? You mean, with a jacket and heavy pants and gloves and stuff? But they're sooo heavyyy!" Will whined. His voice considerably softened. "Plus, I may not have any... heh..."

Nico sighed and dragged him out of his room, yelling at his dad along the way.

"Dad! Will and I are going to go out for a moment! We'll be back later!"

Nico turned to see his dad smirking and then turning around to return to his room. Nico sighed and went down the stairs two at a time, determined to get Will some winter clothes.

They took the bus again, like they did when they went to Chuck E. Cheese's, and got off right in front of the mall. Nico ran off the bus to get to the double doors, but when he got there, he turned around and noticed Will shivering and walking.

"You know, the sooner you get in, the sooner you'll be warm."

Nico ran back up to Will and pushed him into the nearest store.


	12. Hoodie Buddies

Will stepped into the store and immediately froze. Nico looked at him expectantly, as if this was what Will did every time he went shopping. But that wasn't what was happening. Will looked around and had a look of... fear? on his face!

"Wait... you were serious? We're actually shopping for clothes? But... I've never shopped for clothes on my own before!"

Nico rolled his eyes and sighed.

"Well how do you get your clothes? Does your mom ship them to you?"

"Ah... pretty close actually. Lou Ellen picks them out for me. I just pay for them. I don't even know what size I am..." Will made a mental note to introduce Nico to his friends at school tomorrow.

Nico turned to look at him like he had grown an extra head.

"You don't even know what size you are? Ugh. Bend over."

Will obeyed, bending down until Nico could read the tag on the back.

"Why am I even agreeing to do this... couldn't we just have stayed inside?" Will groaned.

"We can play in the snow afterwards! Everyone loves snow! Don't you love snow?" Nico gestures for Will to stand up.

"Snow is cold. Cold is bad. I don't like snow." Will shivered and stood up.

Nico slowly shook his head and walked towards the men's clothes section. He led Will to the sections with all the hoodies and jackets.

"You're a men's large. Now take your pick."

Will tentatively picked up a grey hoodie, checking the tag and slipped it over his head.

"OH MY GOSH IT'S SO SOFT!" He squealed.

Will rubbed his face against the inside of the hoodie, smiling warmly. Nico smiled back at him. Nico tried not to laugh as he watched Will running around picking other hoodies that looked like they would fit him. He came back with an armful and walked back to Nico.

"Can I get these too? They're not super heavy, but they're soooo warm." Will made the puppy dog eyes. Nico rubbed his face and breathed in deeply.

"Okay, fine. But you'll have to take that one off so we can go pay for them."

Will pouted. "But... but it's so warm... I don't want to take it off..."

Nico sighed. "You can put it back on after we go check out. Let's go."

They walked to the counter, and Nico bought the hoodies, Will immediately slipping his first hoodie on. He smiled contentedly, and walked out of the store with Nico, intertwining his fingers with Nico's as they boarded the bus to Will's house.

* * *

Sorry it took me so long to update this :( I had a bunch of homework that I _may or may not _have procrastinated about (and written fanfic instead? XD) and I had to finish it all in one or two days. I'm probably also going to be busy the next few days, but I'm going to try to post ;)


	13. A Piece of the Sun

Will ran up the steps to his dad's house and unlocked the door. He hefted the plastic bags heavy with all of the hoodies packed inside, and walked into the hallway. "Dad? I dropped off Nico's keys! And now I'm back with Nico!"

Apollo looked up from his tablet, probably texting one of his buddies. He was lounging on the couch in the entrance hall. Nico noticed a slightly different look in his eyes, like when he was joking around with Will, but more of a mischievous look, like a dark glint from the depths of the mind of an evil genius.

"Oh! Hey Nico! Nice to see you again. From the looks of the house when I came back, I guess you didn't do too much damage!" Apollo grinned, for a split second reminding Nico of Will, and then Phoebus came dashing out of his doggy bed, and started sniffing the plastic bag Will had slid onto his forearm.

Apollo looked at their hands laced together, and raised an eyebrow. The two high schoolers blushed and let go of the other's hand. Nico looked down at Phoebus, petting him and pretending to be oblivious to Apollo's gaze. Apollo smirked smugly, looking like Hades for a moment, and then looked back at his tablet.

"Okay... I'll go back to my room... I should drop off these bags anyways..." Will and Nico awkwardly backed away and walked down the hallway to Will's room. Will opened the door and dropped the bag on his neatly made bed. Nico had pretty much expected his room to look like this.

The walls were painted a shade of very light blue, like a cloud had been dipped into the color of the sky and then mixed into paint. Will's furniture and bedsheets were all yellow. It looked like little bits of the sun had broken off and were drifting in the light blue of a clear day.

"Well... I'm not very surprised by your choice of decor..." Nico looked around as Will started taking out the hoodies and putting them into his dresser.

Will turned around. "Yeah? You like it?"

Nico grimaced. "It's a bit too bright for me... as you can see."

He thought back to what his room looked like, and compared it to Will's.

"My room's basically the inside of a tomb. Or a coffin. Whichever one suits me best at the time."

"Well, we could do something to change that..." Will pulled out a huge manual with all sorts of room designs and color schemes, and dragged Nico out of his room.

* * *

Eheheheheheheh... they're going to redecorate Nico's room! (w) And it's barely 8:00!

Thank you guys for reading and reviewing! I really love reading everything you guys write :3

(psst... once we reach 5k views I'm going to post a special POV!)

-Aleavon


	14. Chats (A Special POV)

**Author's Note:** Yay! We made it! :3 Here's a special POV for reaching 5000 views! Most of this chapter is in "chat format" or "text speak", so sorry if you don't like to read without punctuation and capitalization :(

I also made a blog post on tumblr with all the gods' screen names :3

bigflamingballofgas is Apollo (i guess it caught on... Artemis!), and lotunderworld is Hades (haha... get it? LOTR? LOTU? XD

Happy Reading!

-Aleavon

* * *

Apollo watched as Will and Nico walked back down the hallway, and finally entered Will's room. He smiled and sighed in relief. He was glad that Will hadn't come over to see just who he was texting. Probably because he was always texting one of the band members of The Muses(which was his band, he was really just the manager nowadays), which was probably what Will assumed his dad was doing. But in reality, he was chatting with Hades about the young couple's every move...

_**bigflamingballofgas:** Hey, Mr. Gloom and Doom, guess what? _

Apollo smirked and waited for Hades to reply. He couldn't wait to see his reaction to what he just found out about their favorite otp: Their sons! A _ping!_ sounded from his tablet. Hades had replied. Giddy with excitement, Apollo looked down to find:

_**lotunderworld:** Don't call me that._

Needless to say, he was disappointed. Apollo had really expected a bigger reaction... Didn't Hades want to know what was going on?

_**bigflamingballofgas:** BUT DON'T YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT JUST HAPPENED?_

Apollo grinned, eager to find out what Nico's dad would think.

_**lotunderworld:** Ugh what happened?_

He gladly recounted the events that had happened in the past few minutes, and sent the entire paragraph to Hades.

_**bigflamingballofgas:** ok, so Will and Nico just walked in the house carrying a huge bag of clothes(i think they went shopping) and then... and then... THEY WERE HOLDING HANDS OMZ OMZ OMZ OMZ THEY WALKED IN HOLDING HANDS AND THEN I LOOKED AT THEM AND THEN THEY BLUSHED AND LET GO OF EACH OTHER'S HANDS AND THEN THEY WENT INTO WILL'S ROOM! isn't that just sooooo cuuuuute? I LOVE THEM TO DEATH! (w) haha no pun intended_

Apollo almost jumped up with the tension of "fangirliness" rushing through him... HE WAS SOOO HAPPY! He suppressed the urge to squeal and looked down at Hades' reply.

_**lotunderworld:** OMZ ARE YOU SERIOUS? THEY WERE HOLDING HANDS OMZ THAT IS ADORABLEEEEEE! i knew they were going to be together... ok listen up i have some extra info on them._

_**bigflamingballofgas:** whaaaaat? tell meeee plz_

_**lotunderworld:** this morning... when will came to our house to return nico's keys, i overheard that nico was planning to take will out for lunch!_

_**bigflamingballofgas:** R U SERIOUS WE SHOULD GO WITH THEM_

_**lotunderworld:** No._

_**bigflamingballofgas:** yyy?_

_**lotunderworld:** because if they see us they'll leave. ok? we have to follow them... just like walk into the restaurant a little behind them and then we can watch them... :)_

_**bigflamingballofgas:** u are a genius... let's go!_

_**lotunderworld:** idk where they're gonna meet but i can find out cuz they'll probably come back home..._

_**bigflamingballofgas:** brb i think they're leaving_

Apollo looked up to see the two about to walk out the door. He just had to find out where they were going next.

"Hey, Will, where are you two going? And why are you holding that home renovation catalog that I got for you years ago?"

Will scratched his head and looked down at the hand that was holding the catalog.

"Uuh... I was going to... go look at some stuff. For Nico. If that's alright with you?"

Apollo beamed at his son.

"Of course! It's nice to see you two getting along so well!"

The two blushed at the exact same time, edging out the front door.

Apollo chuckled and returned to looking at his tablet.

_**bigflamingballofgas:** ok they just left. will was holding a home renov. catalog that i got him a little while back, i think he's gonna get something for nico._

_**bigflamingballofgas:** OH! i know! can u send me a pic of nico's room before they get back?_

_**lotunderworld:** uuh... nico's room doesn't look very presentable... here this one looks pretty similar, just the window's a bit smaller_

_ . _

_**bigflamingballofgas:** yeesh. i can see why will want to brighten it up a bit. but aren't they perfect for each other?_

_**lotunderworld:** i designed it. you have a problem with his room?_

_**bigflamingballofgas:** uhhhh... lets move on. but still... WE SHOULD TOTALLY WATCH THEM GO! THIS'LL BE AWESOME!_

_**lotunderworld:** i think they're here let me check_

_**lotunderworld:** yup they're back. i'm gonna make sure i can track nico's phone_

_**bigflamingballofgas:** he has a phone? willl doesn't. should i get him one?_

_**lotunderworld:** sure...? then they can be texting buddies_

_**bigflamingballofgas:** YUP I'M GETTING HIM A PHONE_

**_lotunderworld: _**_i have no idea where they're going yet but i've got Find My iPhone ready_

**_bigflamingballofgas:_**_ any idea what they're doing now? _

_**lotunderworld: **hold on let me check_

**_lotunderworld: _**_i think will's trying to get nico to redecorate his room..._

_**bigflamingballofgas: **that is sooo cute! :3_

**_lotunderworld:_** _well i gtg cya around i'll let you know if i get any more info_

**_bigflamingballofgas: _**_yeah cya! gl!_

_lotunderworld has signed out._

Apollo took a deep breath. _Well, that went well. All we have to do now is make sure we know where they're going... heh heh heh..._


	15. Best Friends

**Author's Note:** Sorry this chapter's a little short and that I took so long getting it out :(

-Aleavon

* * *

Nico walked in the front door of his house and saw his dad peering down from the balcony, smirking... while holding a tablet. What...? When did his dad get a tablet? and why was he smirking...? did he find out something that he wasn't supposed to know?

"Um... Dad? Since when did we have a tablet?" Nico stepped aside to let Will in.

Hades looked down at the tablet in his hands, as if he didn't even notice that it had ever existed.

"Oh, this? I picked it up a couple of days ago. I think... last Saturday?"

Will and Nico exchanged glances.

"Then that was when... Will first came over?" Nico deduced.

Nico looked back up at his dad. Hades was typing on his tablet, smiling.

"That can't be good," Nico muttered. "That smile usually means he's up to something behind my back."

"Well, it can't be too bad, can it? I mean, it's almost Christmas. Maybe he's planning something for you?"

Nico shrugged, walking up the stairs.

"Maybe... or maybe it's something else, huh Dad?"

Nico peeked over at the tablet, but Hades squished the screen against his chest.

"Nope. Nope. Hades's eyes only. Move along... Move along... nothing to see here... heh... heh..."

Hades turned around and warily watched them go into Nico's room, and then Nico saw his dad sigh with relief.

"Ookay... well I'm gonna close the door..."

Nico slowly closed the door, giving his dad a weird look. Will immediately plopped down on Nico's bed.

"Okay. Let's see. What colors do you like? Green? Blue? White?"

Nico crossed his arms and flopped down next to Will on the bed.

"I like black and red. The colors that my room is right now."

Will frowned. "Well, that might be a little bit of a problem... What about yellow and red?"

Nico lay down, spreading his arms out across the bedsheets.

"Then it'll remind me of McDonalds and then I'll want to eat. No."

"Blue and yellow?"

"That's your bedroom. I don't want to have a bedroom that looks exactly like yours."

"What about green and white?"

"Those are the exact opposites of my favorite colors."

The doorknob to Nico's room slowly turned. Hades stepped in, still holding that tablet to his chest, and looked at the two of them.

"What're you two up to now? Is that a home renovation catalog?"

Will looked up at Hades.

"Ummm..."

Hades stood there awkwardly for a moment, and then huffed out a breath of air, almost as if he was about to laugh.

"Well, I'll stop bothering you two, and you can get back to whatever you were doing. Oh, and Nico?"

Nico sat up and looked at his dad.

"Mmhm?"

Hades chuckled.

"I'm going to be going out for a bit, so keep your phone with you, okay? Call me if you need anything."

"Okay Dad, see you later!"

Hades walked out the door.

Will gaped, eyes wide, at Nico.

"You have a phone? You're soooooo lucky! My dad won't let me have a phone."

Nico shrugged.

"Well, I don't every really use it... it's not like I have anyone other than my dad that I can call."

"But... If I got a phone, you'd text me every day, right? 'Cuz we're best friends!"

Something in Nico fluttered. Something in him kept doing this to him. He took a deep breath to calm his suddenly racing heartbeat and replied,

"Yup. Best friends."


	16. I'll Always Be Here For You

**Author's Note:** I'M SORRY I'M SO SORRY I COULDN'T UPDATE I HAD SERIOUS WRITER'S BLOCK AHHH!

But oh my god I just finished writing this and I AM DYING OF FEELS OMG!

This is part one at the restaurant... next part comes soon! 3

-Aleavon

* * *

Nico and Will entered the crowded Italian restaurant.

"It smells like tomatoes and cheese in here..." Will mused. "And it looks super fancy and stuff..."

Nico poked him in the ribs. "Well that's because it's an Italian restaurant. Let's find our reservation and get to our table."

After a few minutes of Nico searching the restaurant for their table and Will gaping at the glass chandeliers and fancy plates, they finally found their table, a little booth in the back. A red and white checkered tablecloth was draped on top of the table, giving a romantic feel to the entire scene. A sole candle-holder was sitting in the middle of the table, filling the little booth with glowing light.

Will and Nico slid into opposite sides of the table, and waited for the server to come. Meanwhile, Will continued to look around, bug-eyed, at the elaborate decorations around the restaurant.

"Why... Why is this place so fancy? I only brought you to Chuck E. Cheese's... This place... Oh my gosh it's so fancy I can't even touch anything!"

Will still was frozen in a state of shock.

"Will?" Nico waved his hand in front of Will's face. "Seriously. I come here all the time. It isn't as expensive as it looks. And... it is a date..."

Nico blushed furiously as he stuttered out the last phrase. Will slowly, but surely, relaxed and picked up the menu.

"Okay, well... if you say so. But I'm paying for my half."

Nico shook his head.

"Nope. I invited you, I'm paying. Besides, I feel like you paid more at Chuck E. Cheese's for all the tokens and food..."

Will shrugged.

"Well, if you say so... free food is good!" Will grinned sheepishly.

In a few more minutes, the waiter came, and then they ordered their plates. Will, naturally, ordered pepperoni pizza, and Nico ordered Paccheri E Formaggio Caprino (a paccheri with goat cheese), and they waited a few more minutes for their food to arrive. When the bread baskets came, Will dunked his in olive oil and pepper, while Nico just dribbled a bit of vinegar on his. Once the main meals arrived, they started digging in.

Nico took a bite of one of the noodles on his plate, and suddenly smiled. The taste... was almost the same as when his mom made him the same dish. He could suddenly smell the spiced scent of the dinner table, and the warmth of his mom's hand holding his as she cooked...

Nostalgic memories started rushing back to him. When he was younger, his mom would make the same dish. The chef had almost made it just the way Nico's mom had, but there was still something missing. After she served each meal, she'd give Nico and Bianca a kiss on the forehead, and then they'd start eating... but now, his mom wasn't here anymore...

Nico suddenly couldn't swallow over the lump in his throat, and his expression turned sad. Will looked up from his pizza, concerned.

"Nico... what's wrong?" Will leaned forward to look him in the eye.

Nico tried not to cry, as the fresh memory of his mom's absence once again took residence in his mind.

"M-my mom... she would make this same dish... I can still remember... the way it tasted... I can still remember her... It tastes almost the same way Mom made it... and... I can't believe she's gone..."

A tear leaked out of Nico's eye. Will got up and sat down next to Nico on the other side of the table. Will ran his fingers through Nico's hair, trying to comfort him.

"It's okay, Nico. She'll be happy wherever she is... and you know, as long as you don't forget her, little bits and pieces of her will always be here... If you ever need to remember her, just find those bits and pieces, and everything will be alright."

Will put his arms around Nico, and leaned his head against Nico's. He whispered into Nico's ear.

"And if you really feel alone, well, I'll always be here for you."


	17. Caught in the Act

**Author's Note:** Oh my gods I am literally dying from feels right now maybe I rushed it (vvvvv) a little too much but I DON'T CARE I SHIP THEM SO MUCH I AM DYING OF FEELS AHH THE SHIP OMG THE SOLANGELO AHHHHHH

-Aleavon

P.S. eh hehehe sorry about my little breakdown but is it bad that I think my own writing is too cute! :3

P.P.S. Woah... Wait a second. If I can write any fanfiction about Solangelo that I want to read... (O.O) INFINITE SOLANGELO FANFICSSSSS!

* * *

Will let go of Nico, and returned to his side of the table, working on finishing the 8-inch pizza he ordered. He was still kind of shocked about Nico's breakdown. Will was lucky enough to still have both parents, although divorced, but Nico? Nico had to go through the day knowing when he returned home, his mom would never again be there to greet him. At that moment, Will made a promise to himself that he would make sure Nico would never have another loss like that.

Nico felt cold as Will unwrapped his arms from around his shoulders, and Nico slowly watched Will walk back to his seat. Maybe... Maybe this could go somewhere...

Will started gulping down his pizza, while Nico started eating his paccheri slowly and delicately, trying to savor the little remnants of his mom, as if absorbing her very presence into his soul. What he felt was... confusing? Nico wanted to cry and laugh at the same time. Will... cared about him... But his mom's absence haunted him as if it had just happened in front of his eyes.

After a few minutes in complete silence, Nico had cleared off his plate, and Will was just polishing off his last slice of pizza as well. They sat there for a moment, the events of the last couple minutes still racing through their minds, and tried to figure out what had just happened. They both tried to speak at once.

"You-"

"I-"

Will and Nico sat there awkwardly, and tried to start again.

"I-"

"You-

Nico shook his head and said, "You first, Will." just as Will said, "You first, Nico."

They both laughed, and Nico gestured at Will to start.

"You know, you can open up to me more about things like this. I'll be here for you. You don't have to carry all of these around with you all the time. I'm here. I can help you."

Nico smiled thankfully.

"I'm sorry you had to see that though." He breathed in deeply, and exhaled slowly as well. "Maybe I should have picked something else, or maybe-"

Will cut him off.

"You didn't have to change anything. What happened, was meant to happen. You don't have to apologize."

Will got up again and sat down next to Nico, sliding his hand over Nico's.

"I'll be here with you no matter what."

Nico turned and looked up at him, gratefully. But Will was closer to Nico than he had ever been. Will leaned closer, and closer...

Suddenly, their lips connected. Will's lips just barely touched Nico's. That shock that Nico usually felt when Will touched him flared through his body, startling him and making Nico jump backwards. Will suddenly blushed bright red, and scooched back.

"S-sorry if you didn't want to... I wasn't sure if-"

Nico cut him off by pulling Will back into a kiss. Nico cradled the back of Will's head in his hand, and pressed them closer together. He felt Will's lips pressing on to his again with more want. The connection between the two strengthened, and they relaxed into each other's arms. This time, Nico was ready for that spark. It spread through his body, warming him for the first time in what seemed like forever, and he would have stayed that way forever, if not for some sudden squeals and chairs being tipped over.

They broke apart and turned towards the sound. Two overturned chairs were laying on the ground next to a very tousled pair of dads trying to hide from their kids.

"Oh crap..." Hades said. "We've been caught."


	18. Confession Time

**Author's Note:** In case you didn't notice, I've been trying to lengthen my chapters (suggested by Cathy, I thought so too :3). So... that may mean if I have an overload of homework, I may not update...

Anyways, have a little sneak peek of what's to come! :3 (laughs evilly underneath mask)

Nico thought of stepping onto the bus. His mom had always taken him there to just see all the buildings and streets go by. But then Nico remembered... Will had always taken him on the bus to go places. Will... Just the thought of Will caused pain to flare through his chest, and his tears threatened to spill over again.

HAHAHAHAHAHA ok bai happy reading! :3 Love you guys!

-Aleavon

* * *

Will and Nico walked over to their parents lying on the ground, who were as flustered and red-faced as they were. The pair's hands were still interlocked, but they let go of each other's as soon as they remembered that their dads were watching.

Will knit his eyebrows together, and looked at their parents suspiciously. Nico, on the other hand, was more outraged, with a very, very displeased look on his face.

"Uh... guys... what are you doing here?" Will asked, looking around nervously.

"And how did you find out where we were...?" Nico glared down at his dad.

Hades and Apollo exchanged glances. _Should we tell them...?_ Their body language seemed to say. They sighed at the same time, and nodded to each other.

"Errmm... I may have tracked your phone to get here... And we may have eavesdropped on you just to make sure you got together..." Hades muttered.

"DAD! So you mean... you were listening to us in the morning- AND THE TABLETS! YOU GUYS WERE COMMUNICATING! WHAT?!" Nico started to piece things together, and the events that had lead up to this moment started to line up in his mind.

"So you-" Will started towards his dad.

"But you-" Nico glared at his dad.

They both stopped and laughed, but they quickly returned to confronting their dads.

"But why did you guys do this? What...?"

Apollo chuckled and tried to sit up, but failed. "Eh... heh heh heh... we _may_ or may not... uh... want you two to get together?"

Hades hit Apollo on the arm. "Don't say it that way!" Hades looked back up at the two, who had matching crimson red faces. He tried for a grin, but it looked more like a guilty grimace. Hades then shrugged and tried to rephrase Apollo's wayyy too straightforward statement.

"We just... don't want to let you think we don't have your support. It's fine with us if..." Hades tried to (and failed to) suppress a smile, as the two started relaxing. They linked their hands back together, and almost smiled. It seemed like the boys had forgiven their dads until Apollo blurted out,

"And we'll really enjoy planning your wedding too!"

Will and Nico blushed even more, and turned to speed walk out of the restaurant as fast as they could. Somewhere in that time, Nico's hand found its way back to Will's, and they grasped each other's fingers tightly, never letting go.

"I still can't believe they managed to follow us... and it's so weird... they want us to be together?" Will muttered under his breath as they stepped out of the glass doors onto the sidewalk.

Nico, still holding onto Will's hand as he almost dragged Nico along the sidewalk, walked a little faster so that he would be walking right next to Will. As usual, Will was a good four inches taller (maybe five, but Nico wouldn't admit it), and Nico had to crane his neck upwards to even make eye contact with Will.

"Well... I think it's a pretty good idea. Us being together. I think... it'll work out." Nico blushed, wondering how he got those words out.

Will smiled down at Nico, half-surprised that he said something that straightforward. Nico turned and smiled back up at Will.

"Okay, let's get back and figure out what we're going to do."

They walked slowly to the bus stop, savoring every second of the other's presence, and boarded the bus with a multitude of thoughts swirling through their minds.

* * *

_(back to Hades and Apollo)_

They saw their sons storming away from them, but still holding onto each other's hands like something might tear them apart. Apollo and Hades got up and picked up the empty bread basket knocked over by their "fangirling".

"Nice doing business with you, partner." Hades said.

"You too, comrade." Apollo winked and smiled.

They looked around at the people staring at them, turned to shake hands, and then tried to regain their dignity by cleaning up the mess they made in front of the dozens of eyes boring into them.

* * *

**Second Author's Note:** I just realized that Hades and Apollo may not be as mentioned as much from now on... I'll be adding more characters from PJO and HOO... :3

-Aleavon (signing off for the second time)


	19. Meet the Family(Part 1)

**Author's Note:** Phew... that felt way longer than I think it was... It's only about 775 words XD lol

Well, I don't have much to say this round, just that we're slowly working our way up to... "the part"... hahahhahahahaha XD

Until next time! 3

-Aleavon

* * *

"Guys, I want you to meet Nico. He's working with me on our music project." Will was standing in front of a small group of kids who didn't seem to get much attention in the school. For one, they had the table in the corner of the cafeteria right next to the trash cans. Must have made throwing things away convenient, but it made Nico feel sort of bad for them. He usually sat in one of the center tables, with his other friends. Nico wasn't completely sure why they were so popular... but at least he was able to have other people to talk to sometimes.

Nico stood there awkwardly as the three sophomores that sat in front of him looked him up and down, as if deciding whether they should accept him into their table. Will smiled and gestured for Nico to sit with him as Will plopped down at the light green cafeteria table. Nico slowly sat down next to Will and waved timidly at the trio. They stared at each other for a couple seconds, then turned away, not looking at each other.

There was a moment of awkwardness before Will cleared his throat and tried to break the ice. "He's pretty cool once you get to know him. Two weeks of being partners with this guy is wayyy different than you would expect."

The short-haired brunette on the left shook her head quickly, as if waking up from a dream, and smiled at Nico.

"Hey Nico, I'm Lou Ellen, and this girl sitting next to me is..." Lou Ellen looked to her left, raised her eyebrows questioningly, and then said to Nico, "Crazy. She goes by Kayla." Kayla looked up for a couple of seconds, and then looked back down at the journal she was busy scribbling in.

"Hey! That was mean! Be nice to her, Lou. Or should I call you... Louie?" The russet-haired boy that stood next to Will grinned mischieviously, like there was a little demon inside him waiting to jump out at any moment.

"Don't call me that! I-I don't even know how many times I've had to tell you that." Lou Ellen protested, and then gestured towards the smirking boy who was (very childishly) sticking his tongue out at Lou Ellen. "This is Cecil. He's the jester of our little group of friends."

Cecil half-waved at Nico. "I can also smuggle in any snack or drink you want into the school. And I can hack into most of the school computers. And the graphing calculators. Did I mention I can nab free snacks from the vending machines? So basically, if you need something, just come to me. I can probably get it for you." Cecil winked at Nico. He leaned towards him and stage-whispered, "So if you ever need to look into someone's email or something... you know who to ask."

"Cecil!" Lou Ellen exclaimed.

"Sorry..." Cecil laughed, not sounding sorry at all.

Nico was looking at them all very closely while Cecil and Lou Ellen were bickering. All this time, Kayla was writing in the journal she had, silently etching words onto the lined paper as the commotion around her started to die down. Nico felt a slight pang of... understanding? since Kayla seemed to be the quiet one, somewhat isolated from the group.

"Hey, Kayla, what're you writing?" Nico asked.

Kayla looked up, surprised. "Oh... this is my 'everything' journal." She made air quotes with her right hand as her left hand rested on the paper, still holding her pencil. "I just write whatever comes to mind. And it's usually poetry. Sometimes I can string together a song, but it's mostly poems." While she was talking about her writing, she seemed to brighten up, but when she finished, she visibly de-energized, and she looked back down, seemingly surprised that she had said so much.

Nico looked at the other two who were sitting idly and eating their lunch while Will pulled out his homework and started writing in the blanks. Even though it was silent and everyone was doing their own little thing, it seemed like all of them were talking and communicating with each other. Much unlike another group of people he knew...

Nico looked at Will, and decided he needed to connect with their friends both ways. "Hey Will? I want you to meet some of my friends. Will you come with me?"

Will glanced up from his science homework and smiled.

"Sure, I'd love to."

They got up and walked through the tables filled with people, Nico smiling joyfully as the people he cared most about were about to meet.


	20. Meet the Family(Part 2 or Introductions)

**Author's Note:** Omg guys I went on my email today and there were LITERALLY 18 EMAILS FROM FANFICTION ABOUT HOW PEOPLE FAVORITED THIS FIC AND FOLLOWED IT! I am so freaking happy and inspired right now! :3 :3 :3 I'm going to prepare some more stuff now :3

-Aleavon

P.S. WHY IS THIS CHAPTER SO FREAKING LONG? I just spent like 3 days writing this :P

* * *

As Nico led Will through the ocean of people, he thought about what might happen. Piper might go nuts, Leo might make stupid puns, Frank probably wouldn't care too much, but Hazel... What would Hazel think? Nico hadn't told Hazel about how he didn't like girls... unlike most of the people she knew. She was more old-fashioned than most people were, so it would probably come as a shock to her.

"Hey! Nico! Nice to see you're coming back to us! How've you been?" A warm, friendly voice broke through his thoughts. He looked towards the voice and saw Piper smiling over at him from the center table. Nico could see why everyone thought she was beautiful, but now he was sure that he would never think of her the way most of the boys in the school did.

"Jason actually just texted me to check up on you! I'll just tell him you're... Oh!" Piper suddenly saw Will standing behind Nico. "Who are you?"

Will blinked, surprised, and then replied, "Uh... I'm a friend of Nico's? I'm working on a music project with him."

Piper winked at him. "Are you two sure you're not more than friends?" She grinned, causing the two of them to blush.

As Nico looked down at his feet, he wondered what the others would think... Percy and Annabeth knew already, but Piper was the only other one still in high school that knew his secret.

"Oh my gods you two are so cute together!" Piper gave a little squeal and gestured for them to sit down smack in the middle of the crowd at the table. And... Nico was right. Piper did go nuts. As Nico and Will moved towards the table, Piper bounced up and down on her seat.

"Hey guys, Nico's here! And he's brought one of his friends... Maybe even... more than friends?" Piper giggled.

Nico sat down and looked around at his friends, or, really, the people he had gone through his worst days with. Last year, there had been a horrible counselor that was scaring and hurting all of the students in their grade, but somehow, she had never gotten fired. Ms. Terra had some help from "trusted" students that always bailed her out, like Mino, Draco, and Kelli. However, Piper, Frank, Hazel, and Leo, along with four other seniors (who were now in college) had managed to gather evidence and convinced the superintendent to ban her from the school district. Nico had been the one to deliver the evidence, and they were all hailed upon as saviors of the school.

But by the beginning of the next school year, everyone had all but forgotten about the raven-haired boy that had done the most important part of the work. Maybe it was because they thought the others contributed more. Maybe it was because they didn't like him. Maybe it was just because he could never hold on to friends for very long. But these juniors, like him, stuck by his side whenever he needed it... most of the time.

Nico snapped out of his brooding, nostalgic state and looked over at Will, who was sitting stiffly in the middle of the table, looking cautiously around.

"Hey Nico!" Hazel smiled and waved, sitting next to Frank. Frank smiled at Nico, holding Nico's cousin's hand. "Who's this?"

"Oh, this is Will. I've been working on a project with him, and we've become pretty good friends."

Will smiled and waved, still not saying a word.

Leo leaned forwards, his messy, curly mop of hair smelling suspiciously of smoke, as he had just come from the workshop behind the theatre.

"Are you sure he's just a friend?" He winked "flirtatiously" at Will. Will's face was tinged a little pink.

Frank finally stood up and spoke. He had muscled up quite a bit, now that he was on the football team and had took over the spot of captain from Jason.

"Guys, stop teasing him. If he says he's a friend, he's a friend." He turned to Will. "I'm Frank. If these guys keep bothering you about this, just let me know. I'll get them to stop." He smiled kindly, and then sat back down, interlocking fingers with Hazel again.

Leo chuckled. "Sorry, dude. Just messing with ya. I'm Leo. This pretty lady here-" Leo received a dirty look from Frank. "-ahem. I mean... this taken lady here is Hazel-" Frank playfully punched him in the shoulder. "What? Okay, fine. This person sitting next to Frank is Hazel." Leo turned to Frank and raised his eyebrows. "Better?" Frank nodded.

Leo continued. "Okay. Well, this lovely lady here is Piper. You already know Nico, and I'm assuming that... Oh wait... Calypso's still on vacation. I'm picking her up today. And... that should be everybody!" Leo smiled mischieviously as he leaned back into his self-made chair in the gap between the two tables.

Will smiled, grateful for the introductions. "You guys seem pretty cool. I'd really like to get to know you!"

Piper beamed. "Oh! I forgot to tell you guys! Jason and I are throwing a Christmas party in two weeks on Sunday since it'll be Christmas that day. We should be out for break by then! Everyone's invited! Oh, and..." Piper giggled. "Jason, Reyna, Percy, and Annabeth are all drinking age now, so things might get... a little rowdy."

Leo jumped up and pumped his fist. "Awww yeah! I like rowdy!"

Hazel frowned. "Sit down, Leo. It's not like you'll be drinking."

Leo smirked. "But I can make my own eggnog..."

"No, you're not." Hazel retorted.

"Awww..."

Nico looked over at Will, who seemed more relaxed. It was good that Will was welcomed. A little burst of warmth flew through him, and he smiled. It felt like his two worlds were finally merging.

But he didn't know what the Fates had in store for him.

* * *

**Author's (second or third)Note:**

Uh... do you guys think my writing style changes from time to time? I feel like it does... PM me if you have any ideas/requests for chapters or fics for me! I have a huuuge gap between right now and the climax I have planned (and all written up too!) so if there's something you want to see, go ahead and let me know!

Signing off for now,

-Aleavon


	21. Music, the Matchmaker

**Author's Note:** I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I KNOW I HAVEN'T UPDATED IN FOREVER AHHHH! I was so busy working on later chapters that I forgot to update the next chapterrrrr! Plus I had an overload of homework and a math test... :P

Buuttt... the last chapter was like 1100 words... so.. it's even? heh... heh... heh...

Do you guys want another sneak peek or do you just want to wait for the plot twist? XD

Okay, happy reading! :3

-Aleavon

P.S. This entire chapter is pretty much just fluff... sorry... :P

* * *

Throughout the next week, Will and Nico finished their music project and were preparing to present it in class. They had taken a while to decide how they were going to film the "video" part of their music video, but they hadn't really come up with anything good. So, Nico filmed Will doing random things, and somehow, it had turned out pretty well.

The guitar and clarinet parts, although very different, blended together into a beautiful harmony that complimented Nico's singing. (Will, of course, could barely carry a tune... as Nico had later realized.) Nico had a neat little clarinet solo in the middle where it showed Will attempting to do some ballerina dancing. Everytime Nico saw that, he couldn't help but crack a small smile.

They showed the video in class, and as soon as it ended (with a close-up of the two boys smiling), the entire class burst into applause, and even Mr. Brassington was smiling for once. "Good job boys. It's good to see that you can work with someone, Nico." Nico allowed himself a small smile, and nodded.

At that moment, Nico realized that he had gotten more social skills than musical skill from the project. After all, he had a new... friend?... best friend? ... something more? He wasn't sure, but the one thing he was sure of was that Will was going to stay with him. It was funny. Music brought them together, even though Will had pretty much no musical talent and Nico had the worst grade in Band. But it didn't matter. Now, Nico had Will. And he was fine with just having that.

At lunch that day, Will sat with Lou Ellen, Cecil, and Kayla while Nico sat at his usual table. Normally Nico would have sat with Will, but today, Will said that he had some stuff to clear up with them, so Nico sat at the center table again, sitting alone but surrounded by many people.

As Nico munched on his burger, he listened in on the conversation, about who liked who, what this guy did, or where this girl went, just the usual gossip. Piper, in the middle of it all, was giggling uncontrollably, and then bursting out with another piece of information that she had gotten from Lacy or Mitchell.

Soon, the conversation shifted to planning for the Christmas party, and everyone at the table perked up. Except for Nico. He was just there to listen. They talked about decorations, refreshments, party games, you name it. When Leo started gushing about Calypso, Hazel looked back down, less interested. Frank looked over at Hazel and furrowed his eyebrows, and then turned to look suspiciously at Leo.

"Hey, Nico, could you give me a ride? Dad's going to be out of town that week visiting some relatives in San Francisco." Hazel looked up from the landscape she was drawing. "Otherwise I won't be able to go..."

Nico smiled. Hazel was almost as anti-social as he was, but she was also brought to fame during the little incident that happened last year. It also didn't hurt that she was dating the captain of the football team. He felt for her, not wanting her to be left out, and quickly agreed.

"Of course! Dad's gonna drive me, since the buses aren't going to be running on Christmas. I think we can take you."

Hazel grinned. "That works! I'm going to be having a sleepover with the girls, so you don't have to give me a ride back. Ooh... this is going to be so much fun!" She shivered with excitement. "I'll see you tomorrow then!"

Nico smiled back, and returned to listening into the background noise of the cafeteria.

* * *

**P.P.S.** WOAH! IT'S THE ONE MONTH ANNIVERSARY OF THIS FIC! I DIDN'T EVEN NOTICE THAT!


	22. An Old Friend

**Author's Note:** Well... here's a little bit more fluffy-ish stuff... and I'm working on another chapter after this, so it should be up soon! 3

-Aleavon

**P.S.** So apparently I forgot to actually upload the chapter... So I'll be posting two today :)

* * *

Chiron Academy had finally let out for winter break, on the Friday before Christmas, giving the kids a little more time after the new year to relax. Will and Nico walked out of the school that afternoon hand in hand, ignoring any questioning or disapproving looks. But the thing was, there were no weird looks to ignore. Everyone's attention was focused on the jumble of kids in front of them; namely, Piper, Leo, Hazel, Frank, and Calypso.

Nico was a little bitter, seeing as he used to be included in their group, but another little part of him was... relieved. Very. He could be happy with Will, away from the prying, judging eyes of the public, unbothered.

They waited in the parking lot of the school, seeing whose dad would come first.

Will's dad pulled up in his Maserati Spyder, rolling down the passenger side window, and Will turned to Nico, smiling.

"I... guess I'll see you tomorrow." He said, clinging onto Nico's hand, as if he would never be able to see Nico again if he let go.

Nico smiled up at him. "Tomorrow... It's only a day away."

Will laughed. "Really Nico? Annie? Well... parting is such sweet sorrow. I'll see you tomorrow." He furrowed his eyebrows, looking surprised. "How did that rhyme? Ah well, look at the time."

Nico tried to hold back a girly giggle as he realized Will wasn't doing it on purpose.

"I know you've got to go. Au revoir, mon beau." Nico frowned. "Ugh, I sound like Romeo. Where'd my normal talking go?"

Apollo poked his head out of the side of the flaming red car. "If you guys are done saying adieu, it's about time Will and I flew." Apollo furrowed his eyebrows like Will, and then unlocked the door.

"Come on, let's go. He'll see you tomorrow." He said to Will

Apollo laughed as he realized all three were rhyming, and Will slid into the passenger side, waving goodbye to Nico as the window rolled back up.

...

"Is this the right house?" Hades asked as they pulled up to the huge white mansion that Nico was gaping, mouth open, at.

"Yup," Hazel answered for Nico. "It's 111 Olympus Court. This should be Jason's house."

"Okay, then I'll just drop you guys off here. Have fun, Nico!" Hades looked pointedly at the blonde-haired, grinning boy that was waving at Nico, a huge bag of presents at his feet. Nico playfully punched his dad in the shoulder, and got out of the car to meet Will at the steps, toting his own similar bag. Hazel followed quickly behind.

"Hey Nico! And... you're Hazel, right?"

Hazel smiled. "Yup. Nico's cousin too."

"Well, let's ring the doorbell..."

Hazel tentatively pressed the lightning-bolt shaped button as a sound that reminded Nico of a huge storm thundered through the house.

A familiar short-haired, freckled face greeted Nico. Her startlingly blue eyes almost saw through Nico, and she smiled, remembering him from their previous encounters. She had streaked her jet black hair electric blue, and smelled warmly of... bubble gum?

"Hey Nico, long time no see."


	23. Jason?

**Author's Note: ** So... tired... I'm gonna go to bed now... see you guys around! :)

-Aleavon

* * *

Nico sputtered, "Thalia... wh-what are you doing here?"

He remembered her from when he was just going into high school. She had helped him pick out all of his classes and such, and they had become pretty good friends. But when she had moved away to go to college in another state, they hadn't stayed in contact. Now they had met again.

Thalia chuckled, snapping her gum.

"I'm Jason's sister. Turns out you and Jason are really good friends, or at least, that's what he told me. Well, I'm going to be supervising you today, since Dad's probably taken Hera on a date."

She visibly shuddered.

"Ooh... I hate our new stepmom. I think she's trying to get Jason to move out. But... you didn't hear that from me. Come on in. Who's this?"

She turned to Hazel and Will, who were standing behind him.

Nico mentally shook off the thoughts racing through his head after seeing Thalia again for all this time, and focused on introducing Nico and Will to Thalia.

"This is Will, one of my best friends in school, and Hazel, my cousin."

Will smiled. "It's nice to meet the sister of the legend of Chiron Academy." He stuck out his hand to shake.

Thalia looked suspiciously at his hand, shaking it quickly, and then dropping it like it was on fire. She rubbed her right hand on her black jeans as if trying to scrub off the handshake.

"I never knew Jason had a sister... It's nice to meet you." Hazel stuck out her hand to shake as well. Thalia reached out and grasped it firmly, smiling.

Will was looking at her weirdly, but before he could ask Nico about it, Thalia turned around and shouted up the stairs.

"Jason! Your first few guests are here!"

Jason's white-blonde hair popped up at the top of the huge staircase, and he slid down the banister, almost as if he was flying, to greet the guests in style.

"Hey guys! Welcome to the first Big Seven Christmas party! Uh... plus a couple of other people-"

Thalia elbowed Jason in the ribs. "He's still working on the math... and the names. Well, it's a Christmas party, and you guys are the first to arrive! You can put the gifts under the christmas tree over there," she gestured towards the huge pine tree with the letters CHB carved into the trunk.

Jason rubbed his ribs and glared at his older sister. "Hey, way to steal my thunder."

Still scowling, Jason turned to Nico and Will, standing side by side.

"Who's this? Oh wait, no, let me guess, it's my favorite junior's new buddy!" Jason smirked at Nico, and Nico's face grew a light shade of pink.

Jason smiled at Will. "It's nice to meet you, Will. Piper told me that Nico here made a new friend."

He ruffled Nico's hair, and Nico made a fake frowny face and tried to comb down the strands sticking up with his fingers. Jason laughed, and put his hand on Will's shoulder as if welcoming him.

Then, Jason slammed Will against the wall, causing little plastic pine needles to flutter down from the decorations on the wall.


	24. Percy's Here

**Author's**** Note:** YES I FINALLY FINISHED! :D

This chapter took forever...

But I did it! Yay!

Ok go read it now :3

-Aleavon

* * *

Will's eyes widened, freaked out, and he stuttered out, "Wh-what are you doing?"

"I can see you like Nico, and that he really likes you back. But, if you ever hurt him in any way... you better watch your back." Jason muttered into Will's ear as Will tried to free himself, with no success.

Will nodded, looking down cross-eyed at Jason's arm pushing against his chest. "I promise I will never intentionally hurt him. Why would I ever?" Will looked Jason in the eye and smiled nervously. "Can you get off of me now?"

Jason laughed. "Oh yeah. Definitely." He straightened and smiled. "Okay! Who wants cake before everyone else gets here?" He sauntered down the hallway, Thalia backing away mouthing _Sorry..._ and drawing circles in the air around her temple as Will rubbed the back of his head.

Nico and Hazel were left staring bug-eyed in shock.

Hazel was the first to speak up. "What was that all about?"

Will grimaced, turned to Nico and mumbled, "He was just making sure I'd never hurt you. Cecil wasn't kidding when he said Jason was super strong..."

Hazel gave them a strange look. "Is there... something going on between you and Nico?"

Nico and Will exchanged a glance. And once they made that connection, they both instantly decided that Hazel needed to know what was going on.

Nico scratched his head nervously, and then started. "Well, Hazel... You know how I'm really good friends with Will, right?"

Hazel nodded in agreement.

Nico sighed. "Well, that's not all that's going on. Actually..." Nico's words stuck in his throat. Why was it so hard to tell Hazel? Maybe because it was her opinion that Nico cared about the most. Nico really cared about Hazel, and if she didn't accept him...

Will cut in through the awkward silence. "Well, Nico and I are dating."

Hazel sucked in a surprised, quick breath, but relaxed almost immediately. She smiled. "Oh, is that all? I was scared that Jason had something against Will."

She turned to Nico. "I think almost everyone can see that you two like each other, it's just a matter of when you're going to tell the others."

Hazel leaned in and whispered, "I think Frank will still be surprised too... He's a little oblivious to these kind of things."

She straightened and smiled, "Why don't we go in and try some of that cake Jason was offering? I bet Piper made it, because we _all_ know that Jason can't cook."

They took tentative steps through the magnificently decorated house, decorated with delicate crystal chandeliers hanging from the ceiling and the amazing landscape pictures hanging on the pearly white walls. It was like walking through a museum, except it was someone's house. The little holly and pine branch decorations made it a little more home-like, but Nico was still afraid that he was going to break something.

"How are we gonna have a party in here?" Nico wandered out loud.

"Well, we're not. That half of the house is Hera's. It's all fancy and breakable. But this half of the house is Dad's." Jason poked his head out of the kitchen. The walls were painted a light blue, and it reminded Nico of his own house, small and cozy. "Dad knows how to party." In the adjacent living room, there was a huge plasma flat-screen tv with at least 7 different gaming consoles hooked up to it, a DVD and Blu-Ray player, surround-sound speakers, and an entire bookshelf full of video games cases.

Nico walked over to the book case and pulled out the first game he saw.

"Kung Fu Panda, Jason? You play _Kung Fu Panda_ on the PS3?"

Jason took a look at the cover and flushed bright red.

"Uh... I haven't touched most of those games in years..."

"He was just playing that right before you guys came!" Thalia yelled from the kitchen as she was bringing out the snacks and the drinks.

"Thalia!"

"Fine, whatever you say, little bro." Thalia returned to attempting to open the salsa jar.

Another wave of thunder rippled through the house, but it sounded like... someone else was banging on the doorbell? _Like Will did,_ Nico thought, smiling.

"Oh, I bet that's Percy. Let me get that." Jason dashed off to the front door and everyone else followed closely behind."

Jason swung open the door, and there was Annabeth, giving Percy a scornful glare as Percy pressed the doorbell one last time before turning to Jason and smiling.

"Yo, Percy, my man! I haven't seen you in ages, Seaweed Brain! Looks like Annabeth managed to drag you to college with her." Jason grinned, patting Percy on the back. "Piper specifically made a blue half of the cake for you... And I think you might actually save some for everyone else this time."

Percy chuckled. "You underestimate my power, Sparky. I will have that cake finished by dinner time."

"Bring it on, Waterboy."

The two glared at each other in a friendly way, and then Annabeth cleared her throat.

"Maybe we could decide this inside? I'm getting cold out here... Last time I checked, it was 23 degrees Fahrenheit, approximately -5 degrees Celsius... or, in normal-speak, BELOW FREEZING!"

Annabeth did not like the cold. So, Jason stepped to the side, and let the pair in.


	25. People Arrive and Stuff

**Author's Note:** I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I CAN'T WRITE IN ANNABETH'S WAY OF SPEAKING UGH I JUST CAN'T AND IT HURTS ME AS AN AUTHOR... D': D': please tell me it's not that bad... :(

BUT I LOVE THIS CHAPTER HEHEHEHE! :3

and not in an evil way, in a fluzzy, adorable, cuddly, fangirly way XD

Okay you can read now ^w^

-Aleavon

**P.S.** I know this is a human AU, but I still want them to use expressions that they would in the original CHB universe... like Nico being called "Death Boy" and Percy and Jason's multiple nicknames... or Piper screaming out "HOLY HERA" at surprising moments... XD I love those and I really want to keep using them w

**P.P.S.** Yeah... reading back over this... I don't think I can write as Percy either... :P

**P.P.P.S.** Okay... this is too many postscripts... but I just switched laptops, and now I can't use Chrome, and stupid Firefox won't let me Copy/Paste, so I have to go through a way longer process and go back and fix punctuation errors that it's giving me... ugh D: Enough of my ranting, go read the chapter! XD

* * *

As everyone shuffled carefully through the front of the house to the cozy, warm, living room, Jason started to tally off the invited guests to see how many more people they were waiting for.

"Well, we're still waiting on... Piper... Frank... Reyna... Leo... Calypso... " Jason said, counting on his fingers. He scratched his head. "I think that's it."

Another wave of thunder rumbled though the house, and Jason dashed back to answer it. Percy, Annabeth, Nico, Will, and Hazel were left standing in the living room. The five drifted apart to separate couches, all somewhat immersed in their own groups at their respective couches.

Will, Nico, and Hazel sat on one couch opposite the TV, and Annabeth and Percy sat side by side, fingers interlocked, on a couch off to the side opposite the gas fireplace.

Annabeth took a satisfied, slow breath and sighed. "Its so much nicer in here that it is outside. After the AC in Percy's Mustang broke down, I thought I was going to freeze..."

Percy chuckled and put his arm over her shoulder, drawing her to him. "I would never let you do that. Besides, it was only a 15 minute drive from Mom's apartment..."

Annabeth glared at him and swatted his hand playfully. "If you had let Leo fix it, we wouldn't have had to be cold at all!"

"But Blackjack's my reponsibility! And he's my baby... which means I'm the only one who works with his insides!"

"But I'm the one who has to freeze her butt off whenever she goes out with you!"

The pair glared at each other for two seconds, and then broke down laughing, still not noticing the three highschoolers that were sitting on the couch opposite them, staring.

"I guess I'll just have to bear it a little longer if I want to keep going out for dinner. It's not that bad, actually. We can just keep a couple blankets in the back."

"And maybe I'll ask Leo to help me find out what's going on with the AC. He'll probably be able to find out if something's not working right."

They smiled at each other, and then hugged, as if to make things right.

They both suddenly looked up, as if just realizing that the other three were here.

"Well... How's high school coming along, Hazel?" Annabeth tried for a casual conversation as Percy took a more... informal approach.

"Hey, who's this that my favorite sophomore brought to the party? Could it be a new friend? a new best friend? a..." and here, Percy wiggled his eyebrows suggestively at Will, "new love interest?" Percy grinned.

Will and Nico blushed, and Will looked nervously at Nico. Nico cracked a small smile, remembering that he wasn't alone with Will anymore. There wasn't much of a reason to show all of his feelings, even if he was with all his friends.

"It's okay, they can know. Plus, we already told Hazel."

"Oooooh!" Percy exclaimed. "Told her what? You can tell me, right?"

Annabeth turned to look at Percy disapprovingly. "You could ask... politely?"

Percy smiled and gave her a quick peck on the cheek. "Aw... come on, Annie! We're all friends here!"

Annabeth melted a little bit into Percy's arms, and cuddled against him. "I guess... I'd like to know too, Nico."

Nico took a deep breath. "Well... Will and I are dating now."

Will smiled nervously and sat there awkwardly as Percy stared at them, open-mouthed. Then, he reacted.

"YES YES YES YES FINALLY NICO'S GOT A BUDDY! YAY NICO NOW YOU TWO CAN GO ON DATES TOGETHER AND... AND-" Percy jumped up from the couch and started jumping and dancing in circles. Annabeth looked surprised for a second, before shaking her head and mouthing, Only Percy...

"Percy, I think that's enough..." Annabeth chided. She turned to Nico, smiled, and said, "I'm really happy for you. I think it's great that you've finally found someone! Now if you'll excuse us, I think I need to get Percy to *ahem* calm down a bit..."

Annabeth grabbed her hyperactive boyfriend and dragged him to the kitchen, where he suddenly remembered something important, and ran back into the living room. He dashed to Will, and yanked him up off the couch, staring him intently in the eye.

Percy studied Will's face, and then his eyes widened. "Hey, I remember you! You were the guy that found Annabeth and took care of her for a while after Ethan Nakamura beat her up! I don't think I ever really thanked you for that. So thank you."

Will relaxed, seemingly afraid the same thing with Jason would happen again, smiled at Percy, and said, "It was nothing, really. It was good practice for becoming a doctor. I'd do it again if I needed to."

Percy grinned. "Well, thanks again for helping Annie. I really appreciate it. And I really hope that you and Nico are happy. It's been a long time since i've seen Nico this happy, and I hope that he'll be able to stay this way. I'd really like to get to know you so that I'll be friends with little Nico's boyfriend!" Percy smirked and opened his arms. "C'mere."

*cue Ryan Higa's Bromance song*

Percy leaned in for a hug, and Will complied. Percy patted Will's back, and then they released each other and shook hands.

"It'll be nice to get to know you," Will smiled.

At first, Nico felt a twinge of jealousy, but then, he realized the two people he had ever liked had become friends. He felt all warm and fuzzy inside, and for the first time in a long time, he smiled for real in front of other people.

Hazel, sitting there silently the entire time, drinking in the scene like Nico usually would, turned to Nico and smiled back at him.

Nico had never felt so accepted in his entire life.


	26. Annabeth Goes Into Ragemode

**Author's Note:** Hello everybody!

Okay now RIGHT BEFORE YOU MURDER ME FOR NOT UPDATING FOR 22 DAYS...

I've been playing League of Legends all this time :3 and I am actually considering writing a fanfic for Ezreal x Lux... XD

But I know... I know... and that's why I wrote a suuuper long chapter...

That is not below as you can see (right now) because I am still finishing it up.

Also... Next week I am leaving for an exchange program that I got into at school :) BUUUUT it'll be 10 days, and I won't be able to bring a laptop so I won't be able to write. :(

Anyways... check back here in like an hour? a day? 2 days? The chapter will be up by then, I PROMISE 3

Love you guys who read my fic :)

-Aleavon

* * *

"Hey guys, Piper's here!", Jason exclaimed, although Nico (and everyone else) could tell from the smudged glittery pink lip-gloss on his cheeks that matched the lip-gloss on Piper's lips. Piper grinned and waved at everyone, and then pulled Jason into another kiss.

Nico looked away immediately, but he smiled as he stared into the blazing orange of the fireplace, savoring the happy moment.

Annabeth and Percy walked over to Jason and Piper and started discussing all the things that they had been through since they last saw each other. All four of them started getting into a heated discussion about some person that they hadn't seen for a while. Nico saw Hazel look up at the mention of the name, but then look away again.

Hazel looked down at her phone and smiled. Nico leaned over and saw that she was texting Calypso.

"Oh! Calypso's on her way here with Frank! I can't wait for her to get here! There's sooo much I want to talk to her about!" She looked back at Nico. "It was so nice of Frank to agree to bring her here today. She didn't have any other way to get here, and Leo had to get back to the high school because something malfunctioned in the blacksmith shop. He's always so nice."

As Hazel finished her sentence, the doorbell rang again. Jason and Percy were in such a heated argument about how much of a douche Octavian was before he transferred that he didn't notice.

Nico saw Annabeth about to get up from the couch, but for some reason, he suddenly stood up and said, "I'll get that."

Will looked over from watching Jason and Percy argue, and smiled at Nico, sharing a long glance, before Nico stepped through the doorframe and into the main hall.

Nico shuffled down the hallway in his socks, noticing how eerily quiet it was when all the commotion was in one room. He could hear faint mumurs, but couldn't pick up any of the conversation. Funny how he always ended up being the lone wolf...

Nico opened the door slowly to see Reyna standing alone on the front porch, looking awkwardly at the ground. She met his dark brown eyes with her dark, gold- tinted ones, and she immediately brightened.

"Nico! I haven't seen you in forever! Anything new happen?" she exclaimed, stepping into the house.

Nico scratched his head. "Well, yeah, something did... but I'll get to that later." He stepped aside to let Reyna close the door behind her.

Reyna gaped at her surroundings. "Wow... I knew Jason's family was well off, but this? I didn't imagine this!"

Nico cracked a small smile. "This is just his stepmom's half. The living room's much more modest."

Reyna grinned and pulled Nico into a hug. "I've missed you so much... I can't tell you how happy I am to see you again."

Nico hugged her back, breathing in her warm, spicy scent. "I missed you too..."

She looked Nico up and down, and said with a smile, "Looks like you're almost taller than me now. But you've still got a few centimeters to go..."

Nico smirked. "I'll get there someday." A loud crash suddenly came from the living room, startling the both of them.

"We'd better go check on them before someone gets hurt..." Reyna mumured. "After all, when Percy and Jason are involved..."

They speedwalked down the hallway to a guilty looking Jason and Percy, and an very, very mad Annabeth. A big tangle of yarn and a pair of needles lay on the ground next to her.

"Uh oh..." Nico thought. Everyone knew if someone got in the way of her crafts, especially when she was knitting, she would get really, really mad. And everyone knew that you did not want to get Annabeth mad.

Annabeth simmered for a few seconds before exploding in Jason and Percy's faces.

"Okay, I understand that this is a huge room, and that you guys just naturally want to throw round projectiles around. BUT NEXT TIME, DON'T USE MY YARN BALLS AND DON'T TACKLE ME WHEN I TRY TO TAKE IT BACK! I WORKED ON THAT SCARF FOR THREE DAYS AND NOW IT'S COMPLETELY UNRAVELED! I'm lucky that I didn't break anything. What is your problem?"

Jason and Percy sheepishly looked at the ground as Annabeth glared at them, and then stormed into the kitchen. After a few seconds, they heard a door slam.

Jason sighed and rubbed his head. "I bet she went out onto the porch. It's like she already knows this house better that I do. Percy, if you don't mind... could you go see if you can calm Annabeth down?"

Percy grimaced, shuddering. "This is gonna be real fun... I don't want to get judo flipped again. Last time was bad enough." He shook himself, took a deep breath, and walked through the kitchen towards the porch. Nico heard the door open and close, and then all was silent inside.

Jason flopped down on the couch next to Piper and rubbed his forehead. Everyone else sat or stood in a state of shock at the commotion.

Reyna still stood in the mouth of the doorway with Nico as everyone's eyes turned towards them.

Nico cleared his throat, breaking the silence. "Ahem... Guys, Reyna's here. I guess the timing was a little bad, but..."

Jason managed a weak smile, still shaken up from Annabeth's scolding. "Hey Reyna, long time no see. How's business school coming?"

Renya smiled formally, unlike the smile she greeted Nico with at the front door. She walked towards Piper and sat to her left.

"There's a lot of homework and tests that our professor assigns us, but it's not as bad as it could be. What are your plans?" Jason, Piper, and Reyna started to get into a discussion about what Jason should do, and Nico averted his gaze to Will sitting on the couch next to Hazel.

At that moment, the doorbell rang again, and Hazel jumped up.

"That's got to be Calypso and Frank! I'll go get it!"

Nico walked back over to Will as Hazel had left an empty spot on the couch, smiling at Will as Will looked up at Nico. Nico plopped down right next to Will and looked back at the group of old friends still catching up with each other. Will reached over, lacing their fingers together, and they sat there, silently enjoying each other's company, as the other kids all got caught up on each other's lives.

"How are you liking the party so far?" Nico asked. "Even though it hasn't really started. Well, everyone's here except for Leo, and Calypso and Frank are still at the front door, so I guess it counts?"

Will still looked a little shocked from Annabeth's outburst as he replied, "I think sometimes it's a little too intense, what with Annabeth's temper and everything... But it's nice being here. I feel like I'm accepted, and that's only happened one place before."

Nico smiled and leaned his head on Will's shoulder. "Well, that's good to know. I have a feeling that we're going to be coming here a lot now that... well... almost everyone here knows we're dating."

Nico felt the rumble through Will's chest as he chuckled, shaking his head. "I can't wait. It'll be nice seeing your friends. and it looks like this party will be interesting at the least. Why don't we join the others?"

Nico and Will stood up together, holding hands, and walked over to the crowd standing by the doorway.

* * *

**Author's Note:** And like I promised: Here it is! :3

May not update in a while though :( I'll try to write as much as possible :3

-Aleavon


	27. THE COW GOES MOO

**Author's Note:** It's been... what... a month? two? since I last updated...

T_T I'm so sorry finals season came around right after there was this big infusion of personal drama...

Literally took me 3 days to finish this 502 word chapter .

I also lost quite a bit of my inspiration for this fic... halp meh... I'm planning on searching up prompts and seeing if I can incorporate those into the fic because there's nothing left to write ;-; before my plot twist which isn't actually that good XD

Message me if you have any ideas though, it'll help ^w^

-Aleavon

* * *

Frank, and then Calypso, wandered into the spacious living room, assimilating into the group as Will and Nico listened to Percy explain all the odd jobs he had been doing for his cousin's friend. Some of them were completely outrageous, like washing out the stables in his backyard without any water, or finding one of the wild boars in the forest behind the pasture on the farm. Everything seemed out of the ordinary there, but at least the job paid well.

Piper started gossiping with Calypso and Annabeth about the new mall opening up downtown, and Jason and Reyna poked fun at each other's summer jobs. Everyone else broke off into their own conversations, filling the room with many voices and endless laughter.

The chattering from the small mob was abruptly silenced by a loud, high pitched voice screaming, "THE COW GOES MOO!"

Yup. Nico knew who it was.

Leo grinned, standing in the doorway that lead to the kitchen, and jumped into the room with his infamous megaphone.

"Leo's here, baby! Let's get this party started!"

He looked around the room, beaming, until he locked eyes with Calypso, his girlfriend. His smile disappeared and his jaw dropped.

"Holy Hephaestus... Calypso... You are the hottest thing I've seen today... And today I looked into a burning hot furnace for an hour. You are drop-dead gorgeous, girl."

Leo, while gangly and soot-covered, still managed to sweep Calypso into his arms as he hugged her from behind. Piper absolutely melted into Jason, smiling and cooing.

"Aw... that is sooo sweet!"

Jason stared at Leo weirdly. "Uh, Leo? How did you get in?"

Leo stopped short, let go of Calypso, and then rubbed his hair and grinned sheepishly. "I... may or may not... have picked the lock..."

He pulled out a lock-picking set with his initials engraved on it, and smirked.

Jason crossed his arms and stared at Leo. "And you couldn't ring the doorbell like normal people?"

Leo's sassy demeanor cracked for a moment. "Yeah, that's me. The seventh wheel..."

He quickly shook it off and ran to the kitchen.

"Hey, is there any good food in here? I'm starving!"

Calypso rolled her eyes. "That's Leo for ya. Always hungry."

The conversation shifted to the highschoolers' plans for the future. Will wanted to get his M.D., Piper wanted to go into fashion design, Leo wanted to get some sort of Engineering degree, and Hazel wanted to go to art school, but Frank and Nico were both undecided.

"Guess I'm not the only one that doesn't know where they're going..." Frank muttered, left behind with Nico and Will as the rest of the crowd moved to the kitchen for the refreshments.

Will smiled kindly, seemingly glowing with warmth and comfort. "Even though you don't know where you're heading right now, someday you'll find it. Don't worry!"

Frank smiled half-heartedly, as if he didn't believe Will, and moved to follow the rest of the teens into the kitchen, with Will and Nico closely following behind.


	28. Chocolate Chip Cookies

**Author's Note:** Welp... Here's your long awaited update

*cowers* don't hurt me it's 1224 words hehheheheh

XDDDD

anyways on a more serious note

The chapter below contains some self harm, but does contain semi vital plot information, so if you'd prefer to skip out, stop reading at the first line break((AFTER THIS ONE OF COURSE LOL) that caps lock XD) and resume after the second.

Happy reading! :3

-Aleavon

* * *

The group of teenagers sat down at the huge dinner table in the kitchen, joking around casually and eating the assortment of snacks set along the centerpiece of the cherry wood dining table. A gleaming crystal chandelier hung two feet from the surface of the table, making Nico feel somewhat uncomfortable around it in fear that he'd accidentally knock into it a little bit and make the whole thing come crashing down.

Nico grabbed a plate, and picked up a couple of chocolate chip cookies from a bowl in the center of the snack arrangement. As he munched thoughtfully on the cookie, he considered his surroundings, looking at each and every one of his friends sit with their smaller respective group of friends, and decided that it wasn't bad at all. When had he looked on his life so happily? He remembered a now-shocking episode from years back:

* * *

The light gleamed off the edge of his black pocketknife. Nico stared at it, hopeless, as he ran his thumb along the edge of the blade, almost immediately making a shallow, red line that slowly started to ooze blood. The physical pain throbbing from his thumb was almost enough to break through the gloomy fog that lurked in the entirety of his mind. That was good. He needed to get out of this.

Nico watched another crimson droplet splatter on the white marble counter before returning his attention to his knife. It felt so natural to hold the grip of the knife, making Nico feel stronger... stronger that the weakling that he was. Nico pressed the blade to the base of his wrist, taking a deep breath as a dull slam came from the now open bathroom door on the right.

"NICO! STOP! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" A familiar voice found its way into his thoughts, causing him to jerk up in surprise, but he tried to push it away to continue his mind-numbingly simple task: Cut skin. Feel pain. Forget misery. Feel better after. He slowly lowered the blade towards his exposed wrist.

Something tried to restrain him from relieving his pain, but he just struggled back against his bonds. He needed to get away from life, he was worthless. There was no point in him living any longer. Every single way he tried to redeem himself failed. All the people who loved him were just a facade. Nothing mattered anymore. Nico looked down at the pooling blood on the bathroom floor, and remembered his goal in the first place.

"You don't understand! This is the ONLY WAY I CAN FORGET ABOUT MY PAIN!" He screamed at his captor, wildly struggling to return to his previous preoccupation. Two shackles seemed to descend upon his forearms, grasping him tightly and keeping him from moving.

He tried to push the sharp edge towards his pale, vulnerable skin, and once again, was restrained. He growled and tried to remove his hand from the bindings, waving the knife around wildly, threatening to slice anything that came near him to pieces.

"NICO, STOP! It's me, Hazel." A desperate, sobbing voice left a glimmer of light in his clouded mind. The dark thunderclouds soon clouded his thoughts again, and he was left with his despair-filled mind.

"I'M JUST LIVING FOR OTHER PEOPLE NOW! I'M ONLY LIVING FOR YOU AND DAD. THERE'S NO ONE I CARE ABOUT IN THE WORLD! NO ONE LOVES ME! NO ONE CARES ANYMORE! I CAN'T GO ON LIKE THIS IF THERE'S NO POINT IN ME BEING HERE! BIANCA'S GONE! SHE'S THE ONLY ONE WHO REALLY CARED ABOUT ME! MAYBE I SHOULD GO JOIN HER!"

Hazel, stunned in shock, lost her grip on Nico's arms, and in return, he sliced open a bright red gash on his left forearm. Nico turned to Hazel and saw her eyes widen in fear.

"You should be afraid of me. I'm a monster, aren't I? Just... leave me alone."

* * *

Nico's flashback ended, leaving himself a little sadder than before. His arm tingled where a 1.5 inch scar still made its home, reminding Nico of darker days whenever he looked at it. He was pale enough so that usually, no one would notice it, but if they looked closely or ran their fingers over it, they'd realize that there was a scar there.

He tried to shake off his darkening thoughts, grabbed a few more cookies, stacking them on his plate, and went to sit next to Will on a nearby couch. Will looked up, beaming as he saw Nico heading towards him. Will leaned over Nico's plate as Nico set it down and snatched a cookie, taking a huge bite out of it.

"Hey! That's mine!" Nico exclaimed, trying to grab it back. He pulled it back to him, sighing when he saw that Will had already taken a huge bite out of it. Nico contemplated for a second, then shrugged his shoulders, playfully taking a bite out of it as well. Will glared at him and tugged Nico's arm towards his mouth, once again sending a jolt of energy through Nico's arm, and took another bite out of the chocolate chip cookie. They continued to take turns munching on the cookie, pulling it back and forth until they had finished the entire thing.

Nico cracked a small smile. "I got the last bite! Take that!"

Will pouted. "All I wanted was a cookie. But I only got half 'cuz you ate it!"

Will leaned in towards Nico and sniffed his breath, making him blush. "I can still smell it on your breath..."

Suddenly, Will kissed Nico, threading his fingers through Nico's curly locks. It had been so long since their first kiss that Nico almost forgot the pulsing shocks that ran through his body as they made contact. Their lips pressed together with a tenderness that rivaled that of a mother holding her baby, and stayed like that until Will suddenly ran his tongue along Nico's teeth, and just as suddenly, pulled away.

Will pressed his nose to Nico's, staring him straight in the eyes, and murmured, "I can taste the chocolate on your teeth. It's still just as delicious. " Nico blushed even harder, looking away, and was taken by surprised when Will mashed their lips together again, running his tongue over Nico's and sharing the taste of the chocolate chip cookie that they had finished together.

Nico pulled away, gasping for air, and was about to continue their makeout session until he heard a quiet *ahem* coming from behind him. Nico turned around, face red as a tomato, to face Frank, who was also blushing from walking in on their moment.

"Uh... Sorry for interrupting, but they decided to play Truth or Dare... and they dared me to come get you guys... knowing... that... um... let's just go."

Frank turned and ran back into the kitchen as Will and Nico got up.

"Well, looks like we've got to socialize now. Let's go." Nico mumbled.


	29. Swirlies and Textbooks

**Author's Note:**

Hey everyone! I'll be back in America in perfect writing conditions in 2 days :) But I may or may not be able to write during the next few weeks because of summer camps, volunteer hours, and things like that ;-;

I've worked my way around my writers block, but now I don't feel as much support (REVIEWS MAKE ME HAPPY) from you guys reading my fic(s) and I'm not as motivated to write. Even just leaving a one-line review helps remind me that you guys are out there and I need to keep writing for you!

I will take requests for fanfic ideas if any of you want to see one from a prompt or an idea fleshed out or adapted J (basically I'm bored ok XD)

Anyways, here have an update XD

Love ya!

-Aleavon

* * *

Nico and Will walked into the kitchen, where everyone was sitting on the floor, laughing at Frank's tomato-red face and poking him to ask the next person.

"Okay, that was a pretty good dare guys… but can we move on now?" Frank meekly asked. He slowly sank back down onto his spot on the floor, and started to deduce which person he was going to Truth or Dare.

"Hey, Percy? Truth or Dare?" Frank asked, brandishing a smile that was unusually cruel for him.

Percy laughed and replied cheekily, "You know it's always Dare for me, Fai Zhang." A flitter of pain drifted through Frank's eyes as he heard his late grandmother's familiar nickname for him, but soon returned to his regular state.

"I dare you," Frank started, "to let Grace dunk your head in the toilet and give you a swirlie!"

Percy groaned and started to stand up, but Frank interrupted him.

"AAAAAAAAAND you're not allowed to break the pipes this time!" Frank finished.

"Oh Zeus… Last time that happened, Dad got soooooo mad… Please Perce… for me?" Jason looked at Thalia pointedly, and she nodded.

"It would probably be best if we didn't have to replace all the carpet again. Hera imported all that from Greece, and if she has to buy them again for a second time…" She winced, giving the rest of them an inkling of how bad their stepmother's wrath could be.

Percy sighed, replying with an "Okay…" tinged with melancholy, and pulled Jason up from the floor. They both headed to the bathroom, where they heard a splash, some hushed talking, and then a toilet flush. One of the two (probably Percy) let out a string of curses as the door slammed open and the boys walked out of the bathroom. Annabeth started chuckling, probably thinking about past times when Percy had gotten a swirlie from someone, bringing back fond memories that she probably shared with the others.

Nico felt sort of awkward sitting there with Will, whom none of the others had known for a long time, but at least he felt safe and sound next to him. Nico semi-consciously reached for Will's hand, found it right where he knew it would be, and gave Will's hand a squeeze, then feeling Will return the gesture to him.

Piper leaned over to Nico and whispered in his ear, "You guys aren't technically official yet, are you? I don't recall you or Will ever saying you guys were boyfriends. You should ask him… if he doesn't ask you first!"

Nico shook his head, referring to the fact that he never said that he and Will were boyfriends, but Piper assumed he meant that he didn't want to ask him.

"Awww… come on! It's obvious that you two like each other… a lot… and the reason Frank came back red-faced is probably because you two were "getting it on" in there…" She grinned at the thought and continued, "But if you don't feel like you're ready to ask him like that, I guess… you could just wait…"

Piper nudged Nico's shoulder before returning to her upright sitting position next to Jason's empty spot as he walked back with a completely drenched Percy.

"Dammit Grace, who turned the water pressure up before flushing? Geez. Look at me! My entire shirt's soaked through!" Percy groaned as Jason tossed him a towel to dry off, and he rubbed it against his dripping hair, shooting daggers with his eyes at Jason.

"I'm gonna get you, 'Superman'…" Percy threatened while drawing air quotes around 'Superman' as he sat back down among a scatter of water droplets that had fallen from his spiky wet hair.

"You can't dare me back just yet! It's in the rulesssssssssssssssssss, Aquaman!" Jason taunted, sticking out his tongue.

"Damn it! Uh… Annabeth! Truth or Dare!" He turned to Annabeth, who was sitting beside him studying from her the architecture textbook she lugged around in her purse.

Annabeth looked up with a face that said 'No shit,' and replied, "Truth. Athena knows what you'd do to me if I said Dare…"

Percy sighed and thought for a moment, eyes finally resting on her textbook that was resting in her lap.

"I've got a Truth! Annabeth, who do you like better, me," Here, Percy smiled, "OOOORRRR… that… textbook?" He glared at his "rival" and then looked at Annabeth for confirmation. She had a shocked look on her face.

"You! Duh!" Annabeth replied, memorizing the page number of her textbook and slamming it shut.

"Well considering the amount of time you spend with that thing it seems like it's more important to you…" Percy huffed, pouting.

Annabeth pulled Percy to her and pulled him into a full-out kiss, and then pulled away after what was probably a minute.

"Does that explain my answer now?" She smirked, poking Percy in the chest.

Percy looked dazed, and nodded slowly, smiling to himself.

Annabeth smiled knowingly, and said, "I'll pass." She reopened her textbook and resumed studying.

"Well… I guess it goes to Calypso, since she's sitting next to Annabeth." Jason pondered.

Calypso smiled. "Oh, I get to pick now? Hm... Leo! Truth or Dare?"

Leo grinned. "Truth. Duh. There's nothing you can do to me if I pick truth." He grinned, carefree.

Calypso raised her eyebrows. "Okay then... How about this? If you were to cheat on me with another girl in this room, who would it be?" She smirked. Piper squealed. All the other girls looked uncomfortable, except for Annabeth, who was immersed in her book.

Leo's calm demeanor wavered. "Uh... Cali? Are you sure you don't want to pick something else? Like, an embarrassing secret?"

"Isn't this an embarrassing secret?"

"I mean _another _embarrassing secret..."

Calypso cocked her head to the side. "No, I think I'd like to know this one. Who would you cheat on me with in this room?"

Leo flushed bright red, like he just finished running a marathon and was about ready to flop over.

"Uuh..."

"Go on..." Calypso prodded.

"Umm..." Leo's eyes focused on the first girl he saw and he blurted out her name.

"H-Hazel!" he stuttered.

Frank's entertained face suddenly shifted to a scary, aggressive one.

"What? Are you saying you'd cheat on Calypso with _my_ girlfriend? Isn't that crossing the line?"

Leo frantically scooted backwards on his butt, waving his hands in front of him. "No, no, I don't mean that, it's just-"

"JUST WHAT?" Frank bellowed.

Calypso, laughing, stepped in between them.

"Boys, boys, calm down. It's just a truth. Besides, I'm sure my Leo would never cheat on me, so you have nothing to worry about, Frank. Right, Leo?"

She looked pointedly at Leo. Leo nodded, still focused on Frank towering over him.

"Yup, yup, never gonna cheat on her... hey, that reminds me of a song..." He started singing Rick Astley's Never Gonna Give You Up.

"_Never gonna give you up, never gonna let you down. Never gonna-_"

"That's enough Leo..." Calypso muttered.

"Well, who's next?" Frank asked, looking unfazed again, and returned to his spot on the rug.

* * *

**Author's Note:** (second time)

You guys can send me dares that you want to see here :3 I'll take as many as i can get :D

-Aleavon


	30. Leo is a Genius

**Author's Note:** Yes, yes, yes, ik I haven't updated in like a month... and I'll admit it was because I spent more time playing League than writing XD

Also took me a while to think of dares lol

ok yeah this note is short but here: read.

-Aleavon(returning to my game)

P.S. For now I think the view is going to shift from Nico's POV to an omniscient POV cuz I want to focus on more of the characters XD

* * *

Leo let his signature impish grin spread across his face as he looked around the circle with slitted eyes.

Piper thought for a moment, and whispered something to Jason, who thought for a moment, and then whispered something back. She pulled out her phone, and texted someone as Jason said, "Frank… Truth or Dare?" while grinning maniacally.

"Um… Truuuuthh?" He said slowly, remembering the last dare that he had gotten from Leo, not wanting to take that sort of risk again.

"Okay. Which swear words do you know and how many of them are there?" Jason asked, trying to keep a straight face.

Frank groaned and rubbed his forehead, exasperated by the seemingly unfairness of the situation. "That's technically two Truths though, and a Dare as well… because I have to actually say the words…Sh-shouldn't you change it to something else then?" he protested weakly, trying to back his way out of it.

Jason and Piper grinned simultaneously and shook their heads. "It's been asked as a truth, and it is answerable, so you have to answer!"

"Well… at least I could cover my mouth? Grandmother would be ashamed of me right now…" He looked down at his feet and scratched his hair. He took a deep breath as Piper giggled out a "Yeah!" and watched him start.

Frank sighed. "F%# ," he started as his face slowly started to turn pink. "S#*%," he muttered, his hand making the words muffled as more blood rushed to his face. He sputtered out a few more words, turning pinker and pinker every time, until he was the color of a rosy apple. "A%&amp;, B&amp;#$ , F&amp; #%&amp;..."

The group of teenagers stared at Frank in shock as he rattled off dozens and dozens of curse words, all the while staring at his feet with a tomato red face. Once he stopped, there was an awkward silence as Frank

"Heh... who knew Mr. Beast Boy here could rattle off cuss words for..." Leo looked down at his handmade watch, "three minutes and forty-seven seconds? That's... actually pretty damn impressive. I knew that was the perfect dare!" Leo grinned and sat back, satisfied.

"Okay... well, looks like it's my turn." Frank gazed thoughtfully into the distance (or actually the wall across from him but he wanted to make it look sophisticated) as he tapped his chin, trying to think of who he wanted to dare. He grinned devilishly towards Reyna, whom he met as the assistant football coach from last year.

"Hey Reyna, you haven't been saying much this time around... so... Truth or Dare?"

Reyna looked suspiciously at Frank, but then grinned right back at him. "From seeing you give Percy a dare, I know that you can think of good dares, buuut..." She cocked her head to the side, seemingly in deep thought. "Hey, it's a christmas party. Let's have some fun! Bring on the dare, Mr. Oxy!"

Frank laughed and replied, "Okay then... I dare you... to lap dance for Jason!"

An awkward silence spread through the room as Frank grinned awkwardly with Reyna staring back at him, stunned.

Reyna's paralyzed demeanor quickly turned into a menacing one as she stood up, dragged Frank up by his shirt, and then into the living room adjacent to the kitchen. A few muffled groans, some banging, cries of "Stop! Stop! Okay, I'll change it!" and some thumps later, Frank emerged from the living room holding his head in one arm and stomach in the other and meekly announced, "I- I decided to change the dare... to daring Reyna to chug a gallon of milk within an hour."

Reyna shot him a look, but Frank returned her glare, rubbing his stomach, and she grimaced and turned away. "Okay, fine.

Jason and Reyna stood up to get a jug of milk from the refrigerator as Frank slowly sat back down in his spot, clearly surprised by Reyna's reaction. He leaned back on his palms for a bit and stared up at the ceiling, contemplating and replaying inside his head what had just happened during the dare.

He leaned towards Hazel and whispered in her ear, " I've never seen that side of Reyna before... well, not towards me anyways..." Frank muttered.

Hazel grimaced, and sighed over Frank's obvious obtusity, and replied, "She's still a bit touchy about... the whole Jason falling for Piper instead of her thing..."

Frank let out an "Oooohh... Sorry..." and sheepishly rubbed his head, once again looking down at his feet. To Nico, Frank looked like he had lost quite a bit of his stability, but it shouldn't have much, since frank was stubborn as a mule. Or as an ox, as some people put it. A thick-headed ox.

"Hey, who has a watch? We've got to time Reyna!" Jason cried, trying to open the jug of milk, but to no avail. Reyna, after a few amused seconds of watching Jason struggle with the plastic lid, slowly took it from him, peeled off the lid, and then held it up to her face. Leo held up his arm, and pressed the timer. Reyna held the jug up to her mouth, grimacing, and slowly tipped it back towards her mouth...

But nothing came out. She shook the bottle upside down, and nothing came out. Leo started giggling like a wood nymph as Jason peered into the bottle.

"Ugh... Leo, did you put the milk in the freezer again?" Jason slapped himself on the forehead as he realized why Leo had gone into the kitchen when he arrived. Somehow Leo had known that they'd do that dare eventually.

Frank chuckled and smiled at Leo. "Leo, you are a genius... buuuut, that still means we can't do my dare..."

Reyna smirked. "And that means I get off scot-free!"

Leo chuckled. "Well... we can't have that happening, now can we? That means we'll have to... substitute the dare..."


	31. Jasper Blows Up a Bit

Author's Note: Holy crap this chapter has like 1.4k words

tldr plus i don't want to explain my entire situation:

laptop taken away, 3 hrs a day, writers block, wattpad is a b****, LeAnne has no League of Legends to play

Please review/leave a comment as to what you think so that maybe I can figure out what to write next! ^_^

-A very stressed out and idea-less Aleavon

* * *

Leo dashed into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator door. The rest of them looked at each other, shrugged, and followed.

When they arrived, Leo had pulled out a huge mixing bowl and a bag of stuff that he had brought with him before he arrived.

"I found this cool website that has a ton of pranks and funny dares that Connor and Travis showed. me. Turns out some of them were actually really good, so i brought the stuff to set up a few of them!" Leo laughed and pulled out a bag of bologna, a small jar of mayonnaise, and a packet of corn flakes.

"Uuh... Leo? What in Jupiter's name are you making?" Reyna raised her eyebrows and narrowed her eyes as she looked at Leo assemble his dare.

"Oh... nothing much. Just some stuff that you're going to eat!" He grinned mischieviously, grabbing a stirring spoon.

"Hmm..." Leo once again reached into his bag and pulled out a container of... strawberry yogurt?

"Um... what's the yogurt going to... oh." Reyna suddenly became very quiet as Leo mixed in the yogurt.

"Ew! You want me to eat THAT?!" Reyna screamed. "It looks like you barfed into it!"

Leo chuckled and thrust it at Reyna, who quickly backed away. "Ey, Frank, isn't this much better that just milk?"

Frank laughed and patted Leo on the shoulder. "You, sir, are truly a genius."

Percy peeked into the bowl, sniffed it, and grinned. "Duuude... if you dyed that blue I would totally eat that! Bologna AND cornflakes! That is perfect synchronization of meat and cereal! And the strawberry adds in a sweet and sour tang of flavor. Perfect."

Leo grinned and elbowed him. "Hey, since when did you become a food connoisseur?

Percy reached over and dipped a finger into Leo's concoction. "Hm... It's pretty good for a non-blue food, actually. See?" Percy picked up the bowl and spoon and handed it to Reyna. "Here ya go!"

"And don't forget to EAT THE ENTIRE THING!"Leo butted in, nudging Reyna as she stuck her finger in it. She slowly, slowly raised her finger to her mouth, trying to delay the inevitable as her finger finally passed the final barrier of her closed mouth.

Reyna screwed up her face, grimacing, and swallowed, making a gagging sound as she reached for the spoon. She choked down each bite of the sweet and sour concoction, gagging as every slimy, putrid mouthful slowly slid down her esophagus. She shuddered as the last spoonful of the mixture passed her lips and she immediately ran to the bathroom, gasping, "Gods... dammit... Leo..." as they heard the door slam, Reyna barf, and a toilet flush.

Reyna staggered back to the group, shooting daggers at Leo as she held her stomach, groaning. "Percy, I have no idea how you can stomach that stuff-" He smirked at her as she retorted, "- so I'm going to ask you...Truth or Dare?"

Percy grinned, and once again, said, "Dare! The swirlie wasn't too bad and I doubt you can do much worse!"

"Well, then can you go a month without blue food?"  
"Wha- but!

"No buts. That's your dare."

Percy audibly sighed and smacked himself in the face, mumbled a string of curses under his breath, and finally gave in, feebly nodding his head and sitting back down, before jumping back up. "Wait, that means it's my turn to ask someone! Jason! Truth or Dare?"

Jason grinned and cockily replied, "Truth. Who knows what you'd do to me if I said 'Dare?' I know that chances are, you won't be able to think of a truth to ask!"

It was Percy's turn to grin as he replied with just as much persassiness, "You said that last time we played, so I prepared ahead of time!" Percy pulled a folded piece of paper out of his pocket and ran his finger down a list of things.

"Hm... let us see... What will our poor little Zapados have to answer today?"

Annabeth leaned over and whispered in Percy's ear, pointing at a line on the paper.

"Hm... that was a good one but I don't think it fits."

Annabeth frowned, and then harshly jabbed her finger on another Truth in the middle of the page. "This one will mess with him the second most then. Trust me, I know." Then, she turned back to her textbook.

"Okay Jason. I want you to say what you least like about Piper and then..."

Jason's eyes bugged out as he heard this. "And THEN?"

Percy smirked and made an accentuated gesture with his fist, like an "ahem" as he continued to read.

"...And then compare her faults to what you like about all the other girls."

"Ooohhh Jupiter." Jason murmured as he inhaled.

"Jason, if there's something that I'm doing that bothers you, you can tell me, okay? I'll do my best to fix it. You know you can be honest with me." Piper softly said, resting her hand on Jason's shoulder.

"Yeah... yeah... I know." Jason replied halfheartedly. "Should I start now?" He had a look on his face as if he had just swallowed some of Leo's mush, and then sighed, turning to Piper.

"I know I've been kind of late about this but..." Jason paused, not wanting to say what came next, and said, "sometimes it's annoying when you go all PDA on me... Not that I don't like the affection, but cleaning all the lip gloss off my cheeks gets kind of annoying sometimes. And... Pipes?"

Piper had a wide-eyed, guilty look on her face as Jason turned towards her with a painful look on his face. "Piper... I'm sorry... But I'm going to have to finish the rest of the dare."

Jason sighed again, and rubbed his forehead. "By the gods, why me?" He turned to Annabeth on his right, and started to list off the things that he preferred about her over Piper.

"Well, for one, I've always liked girls with curly hair. I love your braids, Piper, but sometimes, waves aren't enough. I still have this one memory from when I was little, when Thalia still had long hair, and I loved to tug on them and watch them spring up. It... reminds me of before everything went nuts when... Mom died."

Annabeth smiled, and halfheartedly tugged on one of her blonde locks as Jason continued.

"Plus, Annabeth would actually be able to help me on school work and such, but you're still a few classes behind me, so when I'm in hot water in one of my classes I can't do much about it. She always has a way to solve a problem of any kind."

Jason turned to Calypso. "I haven't known you as long as the others, but from what I've seen, you're a really chill person. Your very presence in the room seems to calm people down, and if that isn't enough, you have other ways. You're like... Leo's personal tranquilizer. You keep everyone from bouncing off the walls."

Reyna looked up as Jason said her name to start her part of the dare. "Reyna... I've known you for almost five years now, from when I became captain of the football team and you the cheerleading squad. But when the two groups were together, planning out events and fundraisers, you were the authority there, not me. You seem to empower everyone whom you lead, and I... I really appreciate that." Reyna looked slightly crestfallen at Jason's simple response, but changed her expression as Jason moved onto Hazel.

"Hazel... What can I not say? From the first day you stepped into the high school and we met, it seemed like you were the welcoming presence, rather than me. You're always there in case I need to talk to someone about something, although I have Piper for that all of the time, and I know I can confide in you."

By the time Jason had finished, Piper was almost in tears. "Jason... Why- Why didn't you tell me earlier? I could have-" She sniffled, reaching into her bag for a packet of tissues, "- could have done something about it! Was I wrong to think that you and I work out?"

As they eyed the commotion, Percy and Annabeth gave each other a worried look, and Annabeth cleared her throat. "Hey guys... I think we've been playing Truth or Dare for a while now. Maybe... we should play a different game... Like... Seven Minutes in Heaven! In fact, you two should start! Let's go take you to find a closet."

Annabeth stood and almost pushed the bickering couple out of the room as the rest of the teenagers looked at each other awkwardly.

"Well... what now?" Nico said quietly.


	32. Confessions in the Dark

**Author's Note:** Guys I actually finished

haha thanks for all of you who reviewed :) i don't know whether to be threatened into writing or inspired into writing XD

I think when I first started the fic I was more consistent but I guess i pop out a chapter when i get inspiration or headcanons XD

haha the fluff chapters are still incoming because i have a word count goal before i update lol

I've read a lot of those fics where the people just stop writing and they have one of the most invigorating plots that I've read. *sighs* I know how it feels and I wish i could be better at thinking of stuff but I'm trying :)

Every one of your reviews refreshes my furor of bringing all of my headcanons to life, and I know, deep inside, that I should continue around even the largest writers block XD

Thank you for all the support! :)

-Aleavon

**P.S.** That took me way too long to write . I should have made it longer

* * *

The rest of the teenagers sat there in an awkward silence as they waited for Jason and Piper to get out of the closet. The elevated fever of the moment had receded, leaving them with nothing on their minds and nothing to say. Well... mostly nothing on their minds. Nico, on the other hand, was contemplating what Piper had said to him earlier.

"_You guys aren't technically official yet, are you?"_ Her lighthearted voice resonated in his head as he played the phrase over and over in his head. Will... had never really confirmed that he liked Nico. Will had never straight out looked him in the eyes and said to him, "I like you," or maybe even...

No. He couldn't dare to wish that much. If only the imagination of Will's reply would ease the uncertainty in his heart. _If Piper... and Jason... had all those things left unsaid between them... then what have Will and I not said? What if... He doesn't actually like me and is... acting like he is... for some reason... He wouldn't, would he? But then he'd pretend to be who he is... _An influx of vicious thoughts flooded Nico's mind, causing him to start breathing erratically, hoping no one would notice anyways.

Nico thought back to the day in the restaurant where he had confided in Will as he cried in front of another human being for the first time in what felt like forever. Nico had already told him about his mother, about himself... about so much that most of the outside world wouldn't have a clue about, but was Will to be trusted?

"Hey." A warm, comforting voice broke through his thoughts as he turned to see Will looking at him worriedly. The very tone of Will's voice was enough to send Nico's heart melting down to his stomach as Will scrutinized Nico's face. "Are you alright? You're acting like something's bothering you."

Nico, still uncertain, looked straight into Will's clear blue eyes, seeing nothing but concern for himself in them, and let out a puff of air that he didn't realize he'd been holding in. But Nico still turned away from Will's freckled face and returned to his previous position. _What if it was all true...? What if..._ Nico folded his hands as he remained silent, looking at his feet.

Will pursed his lips and then put an arm around Nico as he waited for Nico to speak, knowing that something was on his mind. He leaned over to whisper into Nico's ear, "If you want, we can talk this out later... when we have some time to ourselves. I don't know if you want to go over this now, because I can tell it's important." Will then turned around and watched the pearl-white clock on the wall tick by, keeping track of every passing second.

As if waiting for that very moment, a giggling Piper and a smiling Jason burst through the kitchen door, followed by Annabeth with a very satisfied look on her face.

"Thought that might do the trick. Who's next?" Annabeth said, grinning, and turned to give Piper... "that look". "Time to work your love magic!"

Piper looked around the room and her gaze came to a halt upon Will's stiff posture and Nico's slouched demeanor. The little bit of intuition she had for relationships kicked in, and she immediately knew something was wrong. Her expression suddenly became serious, and she quietly walked over to them and said, "Maybe... you two should go and... talk out whatever's going on. It'll help." Piper smiled kindly and returned to Jason's side, where she clung to his arm and rested her head on his shoulder.

"C'mon, it's this way." Annabeth said, gesturing for the two to stand up. Will did so immediately, brushing off his slightly rumpled khakis, and held out a hand for Nico to get up. Nico frostily ignored Will's open hand and pushed himself up, mimicking Will's dusting motion on the front of his jeans.

Annabeth noticed the discomfort between the two, but remained silent and lead the boys into the overly furnished hallway, up the stairs, and then into an empty closet. She tried to open the doorknob, but to no avail, as the knob was stuck. "Ugh... I have no idea why only this knob is so sticky... I'll have to get Leo to take a look at it."Annabeth had to jiggle it around for a few seconds before it finally turned, and she pushed the door wide open, slowly stepping back to let Will and Nico walk in.

"I'll come get you when time's up, so talk or do whatever you need. Except... uh..." Annabeth blushed a crimson red as she covered her mouth. "Well, you know what you should and shouldn't do in there, so have fun! I guess..."

Annabeth reached over and closed the door, and Nico heard her footsteps as she walked down the stairs.

The silence made the already small room seem to shrink on towards them as they waited for the other to speak. For the first minute or two, neither of them could figure out what to say, so they continued to listen to the patterns of their breathing.

Will finally gave into the silence and sighed, starting the conversation that they both didn't want and needed to have. "So what were you thinking about that made you so..." He searched for the right word as he tried to gesture to express his meaning, "... uneasy? I've told you before, if there's something bothering you, I can help. All you need to do is ask."

Nico shrouded himself in his silence, trying to figure out what to say. "Will... what if... it's you bothering me?"

Nico could barely see in all the darkness, but he could almost sense Will's eyes widening. "Me?" Will struggled to try to find words to say, but couldn't utter a thing.

Nico sighed. "Do you... actually... want to be around me? I don't know... if... I should even... Are we really more than friends? Do... I don't... Do you even like me? I've never heard you even confirm... But... I really do-"

Nico tried to express his thoughts but only stammered out a smattering of words as he slowly quieted and bent his head back down to look at his hands through the darkness.

"Nico... I-I don't know... if... but..." Will stammered out in the same fashion. "Okay, let me start over. Nico. Since I first got to talk to you... I feel like my world... got brighter... and... there's someone that I can talk to no matter what. I know I had my other friends for that, but ever since Cecil started dating Lou Ellen... I felt like there's no one who wants to talk to me anymore. I guess... I know they care... but I feel like I don't fit in anymore. But when I met you... you changed all that, I guess. Someone who would maybe understand."

Will paused for a moment, preparing to carefully phrase his words. "I've found that I can be whatever I want to around you and you'll be there. You'll understand. And I will be here for you too. Because, honestly? I think we were made to find each other. "

Lips trembling, Nico felt a tear trail down the side of his face. "But I haven't heard you say to me that you care. That you want me here. That there even is an 'us' instead of a me and you. I'm not even completely sure if we're together, like you've said. I've liked one other person before, and I ended up having to pick my heart out of the gutter bit by bit. I don't want to have to do that again. If you don't actually like me, just tell me now so it won't hurt as much. Just leave so I'll never have to see you again." Nico quietly started sobbing, as he turned away from Will, shoulders shaking.

Will took in a sharp breath and pursed his lips. "Nico. Turn around. Look at me." Nico turned back around but didn't lift his head.

"Nico. Look at me. We will be together, we will have each other, until the end. We've gotten to know each other so well, and who knows how much further this will take us? All I know is that you, Nico, you are my everything. But... I don't even know if I like you anymore."

Nico finally looked up in shock as Will reached out to firmly grasp Nico's hands.

"Nico... I think... I love you..." Will managed to sputter out as Nico felt Will's grip tighten over his.

"And I you..."


	33. A Good Time for Christmas

**Author's Note:**

HAHAHAHAHAH nononono this is far from the end

in fact it'll probably end in like... june? idk

rn it's christmas for those of you who have forgotten *cough* ellie

anyways i know almost all of them (le characters) are ooc and that's because i don't usually write as them and i'm so so sorry but i'm writing in all lowercase so .

also i mainly use them to move the plotline along

don't hate me too much lol

anyways

here's your chapter i need it to not be fluff anymore

-Aleavon

P.S. I ended up trying to make it super long (3k words lol... long enough for me) because it's the 30k like milestone 3

P.P.S I have new betas 3 and they are amazing and halp me in my writers block you guys are angels tyty

* * *

Once again, there was silence in the little room, but this was a settling kind of silence. The point you reach where you don't feel the need to say anything, because everything is already known.

Where would they go from here? How would they figure out what they would do? Nico was almost scared of the future, but somehow he knew they'd figure out the answers in time. He could wait... forever... as long as Solace was by his side.

Nico felt Will's fingers intertwine themselves with his own, and he grasped them firmly, squeezing them gently to let him know that he was still there. Of course Nico was going to be there, but... he just needed the confirmation that he got as Will returned the pulse.

A knock on the door startled the two out of their trance-like state, and they heard Hazel's soft voice through the door, saying, "Guys, it's been seven minutes and Annabeth was going to come get you, but the pizza came... so almost everybody forgot about you guys. She couldn't get away because of Percy... so she asked me to come get you. Can I open the door?"

"Go ahead," Nico replied. "It's just like Percy to..."

His voice trailed off as Nico dismissed his thoughts about Percy and stood up as Hazel let in a crack of light. He squinted as the light blurred his vision, a stark contrast to the dim closet as his pupils constricted to adjust to the sudden intrusion of light.

The little strip of light illuminated Will's face, seemingly creating an aura of light that lit up the room. Looking at him, Nico's insides twisted up and dissolved into a sort of puddle of admiration and satisfaction that gave him the courage to once again lean his head against his shoulder, reminding himself that Will loved him. _Will. Loves. Me._ Nico tried to familiarize himself with the three words, but smiled as his attempt at doing so sent a shiver down his spine. _I guess this is something I won't ever get used to._

"Come on out when your eyes adjust. We'll all be waiting downstairs." Hazel backed out of the room the same way she came in, her footsteps quickly pattering down the steps. He hesitated for a moment.

Nico loved feeling Will's warmth next to him, and to keep that, he almost didn't want to go back to the noisy, chaotic setting, but the thought of food drove him to head towards the kitchen.

"Pizza, huh? I'm game." Will said, grinning at Nico. "Why don't we go see what they've managed to leave for us."

Nico stood up with Will, hand in hand, and didn't let go as they stepped into the hallway, or when they gripped the handrails, each on one side, or when they descended the stairs to return to the commotion.

And he doubted he would ever let go.

Except maybe for pizza. T_T i'm sorry i had to it's so funny plus we just landed on a spot chock full of feels so

* * *

"You guys better get in here before Jason finishes all the pizza!" Leo shouted over the excited chattering of the other teens, watching Jason stuff another slice of pizza in his mouth as he waved to Will and Nico.

The entire kitchen was the very embodiment of chaos. Noise filled the vast room as the glass chandelier illuminated the otherwise homey room.

"Hey!" Jason exclaimed, jokingly glaring at Leo. "It's not all me! Percy's practically inhaled the first two boxes!"

"Well you got all the garlic sauce so it's completely fair!" Percy retorted, picking up another slice of pizza with his bare hands, which were covered in a layer of oil and tomato sauce.

Hazel looked on in disgust, then shook her head and gingerly picked up a slice of pizza with a fork and knife. She started cutting neat little squares out of her pizza. It must have been the artist within her driving her to make the perfect figures unlike the rest of the "hooligans".

"Who eats pizza with utensils? That's so old fashioned! Just use your fingers, it's not _that_ bad." Reyna nudged Hazel with her elbow as she grabbed another slice of pepperoni pizza.

"Uh, Jason, did you remember to order cheese or spinach pizza for me? You know I'm vegetarian." Piper opened box after box with dismay, only finding pizzas loaded with meat. She raised an eye at Jason who guiltily tried to remember what he had ordered as his beautiful but annoyed girlfriend stared him down, which had never been an easy thing to withstand to begin with.

"Uhh... yeah, I think there's one with olives and mushrooms and peppers and everything else you like. I guessed you wouldn't eat much though, so there's only one box." Jason paused in the middle of his food fest to find the pizza box marked "Vegetarian" and handed it to Piper. He then hurriedly snagged another slice, refusing to be outdone by Percy, and devoured it in less than 10 seconds before reaching for another.

"Oookay then..." Piper replied, gingerly picking up a slice of her vegetarian pizza. She, like Hazel, grabbed a pair of utensils and was about to start cutting out little slices, but shrugged, said "Screw it!" and picked it up with her fingers, taking a huge bite out of it. Reyna congratulated her with so much fervor that they caused Jason to glance over and take in the scene.

"Wow, you really threw caution to the wind there, Pipes," he commented with a lovable but sarcastic grin.

"Hey, a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do when there's an entire box of pizza at her disposal." Piper shrugged as she finished her slice of pizza and reached for her second.

Nico took in the entire scene from the hallway before Jason noticed him still standing there with Will.

"What, are you not hungry? C'mon Nico, you can't stay that skinny for life. Just eat... oh... five or six? That's not much, right?"

Will had already gone to sit by Frank and Leo and was happily munching on a "pizza sandwich" he had made by stacking two slices together, face to face, and then treating it like a sandwich, holding it on the top by the crust and taking a bite. He looked happy enough. The other boys looked on and gleefully accepted this new way of eating pizzas, and started stacking theirs the same way. Hazel looked on at Frank in disgust, and he frowned, undoing the pizza sandwich he had just made. Determined to not let his girlfriend think of him as a glutton, he also grabbed a pair of utensils and started cutting his pizza, mimicking Hazel's precise cutting movements.

A once-foreign rush of happiness surged through Nico's chest as he took in the merriment in front of him. Everyone was so different from during last year's conflict, when they would be crowded in the spare room in the workshop, trying to figure out how to make their next move. Nico mentally smiled fondly as he remembered the metal dragon head atop the door that Leo dubbed "Festus" whom Leo declared the thing that kept watch for danger while they worked.

Funny was the way he felt now that it was all over.

Nico wandered over to where Will was sitting, gestured for Will to scooch over, and pushed in an extra chair in between Will and Frank, where Nico sat down awkwardly.

He cracked a small smile, thinking, _It can't be that bad, I guess I'll try it,_ and squished two pieces together. He took a bite and let the familiar spicy aroma of oregano fill his senses, encouraging him to hungrily wolf down the pizza against his will.

* * *

A few minutes later, after everyone was done stuffing their faces with pizza, Thalia came downstairs from her room, announcing that it was 8 o'clock and time to open presents. Nico felt like the time had gone by way too quickly. It always did when he was having a good time... especially with Will.

By now, everyone had had their fair share (Or in Percy and Jason's case, more than their fair share) and were completely sated and ready to move on.

They gathered at the base of the towering pine tree, everyone eyeing the Christmas bags that were overflowing with presents, trying to identify which ones were the most artistically wrapped(Hazel's and Piper's, namely) and the largest(Just about everyone else's). And of course, they were whispering about what could be in those presents.

"Well, what are you guys waiting for? Have at it!" Thalia chuckled, revealing a small, wrapped present she had hidden behind her back. "I'll give the first gift of the evening... to my little brother, Jason. Merry Christmas!"

Jason received his present with an amused grin, which soon turned into raucous laughter as he ripped apart the wrapping paper. "You... got me... a stapler?! Of all things, Thalia..." He laughed as he ran his fingers along the back of the stapler.

"I think it's safe to say you're old enough to know that you're not supposed to eat staplers now," Thalia replied, brushing the scar on Jason's lip. "So I suppose I can entrust you with this one."

"Well... Y'all better get to gifting, I'm gonna go catch up with my friends in our Skype call. Let me know when y'all are done so we can figure out what we'll do before rides get here."

Thalia quietly padded back up the stairs as Nico heard the familiar pinging sound coming from Thalia's iPhone as her Skype call came through. "Hey, Luke, give me a sec, I've got to get back upstairs. Is Zoe there?"

* * *

Immediately, all the people gathered in the room started bustling with a festive energy, rushing to give and receive their long-awaited gifts. A flurry of hands reached out to grab their bags so as to sort out which gifts went to which person. Hopefully, the judgement they had made while selecting gifts had been adequate.

Like the others, Nico unpacked his gift bag, stacking the presents one by one, trying to figure out which one he'd deliver first. He rummaged through the pile, thinking of what was in each of the carefully wrapped presents, and finally settled for the slim, snowflake-patterned box that contained the soft, plushy garment he knew the intended owner would adore.

And there he was. Looks like Will and Nico had both decided to give their first gift to their significant other. Will was slowly approaching Nico with his eyes fixed on the box that Nico had just stood up with to deliver, and then glanced up to see Nico looking up at Will. He stopped and watched Nico take two steps towards him, quietly scratching the back of his head as he held the crinkling box out towards Will.

"Uhm... I remembered how much you loved the hoodies that I got for you a few weeks back, and... I thought you might like another one... so I got one custom-made for you. I wasn't sure what colors you'd like, so I ended up just getting a light green one... Well... here." Nico thrust the package towards Will, who had a grin stretched across his face.

Will extricated a small box from behind his back, obviously very patiently wrapped with a wrapping paper covered in little Santas and a white bow stuck on the top of the box. It was about the size of Nico's hand, but must have been very delicate, as Nico guess from the way Will gingerly held the box with his fingertips.

"Well.. My gift isn't exactly something you're going to use immediately... It's more of something to keep." Will grinned nervously and handed it to Nico as he received the new hoodie. "Don't open it yet. Just remember, save it for when I'm not there to tell you..." Will gulped and leaned in to whisper in Nico's ear. "When I'm not there to remind you that I love you."

There was nothing that could have beaten the sudden warm feeling that flooded Nico's chest as he flung his arms around Will, who returned the embrace an instant later. There was nothing in the world that he wouldn't trade for being able to stay by Will's side forever.

* * *

"How's the party, Caly?" Leo asked, sliding into the empty spot on the floor next to Calypso as she sat, meddling with something in her delicate hands. As she heard Leo come by, she startled, but then relaxed as she realized it was just Leo.

"It's really fun being here with all of your friends! I'm so glad you managed to let my parents allow me to finally go to a public school. Being stuck at home learning on my own was one of the most boring things ever... And I'd never have met you if I hadn't gone outside that day you blew up my picnic table."

Leo chuckled as he fondly remembered that day where he was testing his latest mechanical contraption. He had been putting together a hovercraft for a few weeks by then, and he had finally gotten the motor and the engine the day before. In his excitement, he had welded the motor on backwards, reversing the position of the cables, so when he first tested it in his backyard, he ended up flying over the wall of his apartment complex and crashing on the picnic table of the girl who lived just over the wall. After that accident, he had returned to her house the same way, eventually befriending her.

That one mistake he made had lead to him finding the most perfect thing in his life.

Leo snapped out of his flashback as Calypso ran her fingers along his arm, stopping at his hand, closed around a small unwrapped box.

"What's in here?" Calypso wondered, prompting Leo to uncover the tiny heart-shaped box hidden by his fingers.

"Oh, uh... I-it's your Christmas present. I... uh... wasn't sure if you'd like it, but..." Leo stammered and uh'd his way through the sentence, Calypso having caught him off-guard. He shook his head and held out the box, opening it on its hinge as if he was proposing to her. Inside the box, a carefully crafted spiraling chain and heart-shaped necklace lay on the black velvet that cushioned the inside.

"Oh, Leo, it's beautiful! Did you make it?" Calypso gushed, reaching out to hold it up to the light. She noticed a small knob on the side of the heart and pressed it lightly. After a short delay, a familiar tune tinkled out of the golden ornament, Calypso soon recognizing it as the song she was singing the first day she met Leo.

"I had one of the chorus people help me with the tune, but I managed to make it during my free time in the workshop. I hope you'll wear it... but I know you have a lot of other necklaces that would match better with your outfits... if you do that kind of thing..."

Calypso giggled and put her hand on Leo's shoulder, gently tugging on the top of his suspenders.

"Oh, Leo, don't be silly. You matter more to me than anything, let alone any outfit does." She leaned in and quickly pecked Leo's cheek.

Leo flushed a light pink, and his attention turned to the object she was fiddling with earlier that she had hidden away in her skirts.

"Is that for me?" He asked jokingly, reaching out and gently grabbing her hand, pulling her towards him. She giggled shyly at first, resisting the pull, but complied and opened her hand. That one motion revealed the four-inch metal dragon gleaming within her palm, bearing a similar likeness to...

"Festus? You got me a miniature Festus?" Leo exclaimed, scooping up the metallic figurine as he examined it from every angle. "But he's just a head... how did you manage to... make him look exactly like he did in my head? I was planning on making a prototype of a smaller version of him, but you beat me to it!"

Calypso grinned. "I was hoping that you'd like it. You adore his head above your back room so much I thought you'd like a whole one. So I sketched it out and sent it to one of my dad's friends, and he put it together for me.

She excitedly set the miniature Festus upright on Leo's outstretched palm as he stared at the detail of the dragon in wonder. "And if you flick this, he'll blow fire! He's like a lighter, and you can even refill it from this little compartment. Any kind of lighter fluid should work!"

Leo found the little knob and flicked it slowly, and a small flame shot out of Festus' mouth.

"That is so cool! How come I didn't think of that? I'm gonna make a larger version of this. Thank you so much!"

Leo leaned forwards and kissed Calypso's forehead, and then they sat there, foreheads touching but not saying a word, silently thanking whatever forces there were at work in this world for bringing them together.

* * *

"Hey Frank," Hazel said, quietly walking over to where he was sitting. "I have something to give to you."

Frank looked up from a small, cotton-white drawstring bag that he was cradling in his hands, and quickly slid it into the gift bag to his left as he turned to meet Hazel.

She wasn't holding a wrapped present, so Frank immediately recognized the gift as the sketchbook as the one she had been working on all year.

"Remember when you told me of all those dreams where you turned into animals? Every time you'd tell them in such amazing detail, I just had to sketch them out. And one day where I had a lot of time, I decided to color them in with the colored pencils Dad got me one year. I wanted to show them to you so many times, but then I still hadn't finished all of them... and i just finished the last one a week ago, and I thought, 'Why not give them to Frank for Christmas?' So... here they are."

She smiled shyly and held out the notebook for Frank to open and look at.

He slowly turned to the first page and stared at it in awe and wonder. The first picture depicted a gigantic elephant stood in the swirling snow of a storm, facing down a giant humanoid monster standing on two large chicken feet and covered in a red cape of hair. Every detail was immaculate, making it seem they were actually standing there in the scene, watching the two giant creatures facing off.

The next few pages followed in suit, displaying Frank's "dream visions" through a Prismacolor lens, bringing the two upon the adventures of Frank's dreams once again.

"Hazel... This... This is amazing! You'll do incredibly in art school, I just know it! Honestly... my gift isn't as good, but I know it'll still mean as much to me as this did if you'd just take care of it."

Hazel sat down next to Frank as he recovered the little pouch that he had tossed back into the bag a few moments earlier.

"I know you've got enough art supplies for years and all the jewelry you could ever want from your dad... so I decided on something different."

He pulled on the edges of the bag, opening it, and reached inside to pull out an intricately carved piece of ebony wood with some Traditional Mandarin characters carved into one side of it.

"Last year, when I started high school, my grandma gave this to me for protection. Originally, it was my mom's, and it kept her safe throughout the war. She carried it everywhere, keeping it safe, and in return, it would keep her safe. Some of her friends at her station joked with her about it, but she clung tight to her belief. One of her friends that survived told us that the day she died, they had been called in the dead of night to start the mission, and she left this piece of wood on her bedside table, forgetting to slip it inside her uniform."

Hazel gasped, covering her mouth. She knew that Frank's mom had died in the Vietnam war saving a comrade, but she didn't know all the details. She carefully said, "And she wasn't protected because she had forgotten to bring it with her..."

Frank sighed deeply, the shadow of a chronic sadness once again appearing on his face.

"So when they sent her belongings back to us, the people she knew well made sure to include that piece of wood in her luggage. Grandmother didn't want me to know, but she cried over it for an entire day. I heard her through the walls the day they came to our doorstep. When she gave it to me, I promised I wouldn't lose it."

"But isn't giving it to me the same as you losing it?" Hazel asked, brow furrowed. She gently ran her fingers over the intricate carvings, wondering how Frank could bear to give an object with so much sentimental value away.

"It's the exact opposite of me losing it, actually. If I give it to you, then you'll be safe. And as long as you are safe, so am I. You're everything I have. If I lost you... I'd have lost myself too."

* * *

"Having fun tonight, Annie?" Percy said, walking over to where Annabeth was sitting with Piper, Reyna, Hazel, and Calypso, looking over the gifts they had gotten from the others. All of the wrapped presents were sitting in one pile, and the unwrapped presents in their individual laps.

"I don't know whose idea this was, but this is the most fun I've had since last year! I can't wait for the next party... It's a nice break from studying... just don't tell Mom that or she'll probably send her owls after me again." Annabeth laughed, reminding Percy again why he was madly in love with this girl.

"Well I've got something that you probably haven't gotten from anyone else because they didn't even know you lost it." Percy smirked, handing Annabeth a box a bit bigger than her textbook. She peered at the dimensions carefully with her stone-gray eyes, and her eyes flew open as she suddenly realized what she was holding.

"P-Percy... did you really get me...?" Annabeth stammered out, suddenly feeling as if she was holding the most precious ancient artifact in the world in her hands. She carefully undid the (somewhat sloppily tied) ribbon, and gingerly peeled off the wrapping paper to reveal...

"My silver laptop..." Annabeth whispered, the other girls peeking over her shoulder to admire it as well. "How did you get- It must have cost a fortune- and it hasn't been released yet..." She stared at it in confusion as Percy grinned.

"Well... my dad has this nephew that's got a lot of access to electrical parts and whatnot, and influence with people who can put it together, so for my birthday, I asked him if he could look for the plans for the model that you had. After a little bit of asking around, they found another prototype similar to the one you had, except it's one number higher, the Daedalus Scroll 2.0."

"Percy... I don't know how I can repay you..." Annabeth said, running her fingers over the smooth surface of the top of the laptop.

"Maybe... with a kiss for now?" Percy cheekily said, leaning down to peck Annabeth on the lips. She complied and almost successfully held back a grin as she looked back up at Percy in gratitude.

"Oh! I almost forgot! Jason and I have your gift in the downstairs guest room!" Annabeth exclaimed, gingerly placing the laptop back into the box and then jumping up to get Jason, who was sitting next to Reyna on the couch in the living room, chatting excitedly about past games they had shared last football season.

"Jason..." Annabeth said with a playful tone to her voice. "Percy...?"

"Oh! Right!" Jason said, jumping up from his seat. "Sorry for the interruption, but you might want to come see this too." Renya just shook her head, smiling, and got up, following the rest of the crowd out of the room and into the tiny guest room.

"Okay Percy, don't freak out... you'll scare the little guy." Annabeth said quietly as she opened the door, but stepped in the middle of the door frame so Percy wouldn't be able to look inside the room. "Remember back in seventh grade when you had that thing with the guinea pigs that Ms. Circe had? Well..."

She stepped out of the doorway with a flourish as Percy stepped into the room. His eyes grew as big as saucers as he saw the little cage with the russet-brown ball of fur going "reet-reet...reet-reet". As it saw Percy come in, its tiny nose turned towards him, and it cautiously approached Percy, who was opening the cage door. Percy watched it clamber out and take in its surroundings before shuffling its way towards Percy's outstretched hand.

"He's an adorable little Cavia porcellus, isn't he?" Annabeth couldn't help but toss in that scientific name for the guinea pig, showing off the knowledge she had gained from learning how to take care of a guinea pig.

"He's so cuteeeeeee!" Percy squealed in a voice that was very much unlike him as he reached forwards to pet the little rodent's back. The vibrating purr that it replied with confirmed that it was just as much infatuated with Percy as Percy was with...

"What's his name?" Percy asked, just remembering that he hadn't asked Annabeth for the name of his new pet, who was crawling up onto Percy's lap.

"Jason and I were going to let the person who spent the most money decide, but we ended up splitting it 50/50, so you get to name him." Annabeth replied matter-of-factly, shooting Jason a glance and then stage-whispered to him, "And I doubt that a bag of guinea pig food costs $30, but I'll let it slide this time."

"I think I'll name him..." Percy said, staring into the little creature's eyes, "Nemo."

Annabeth chucked and elbowed Jason. "Told you so. Where's my $20?"

"Wait, you guys bet on the name I'd give him?" Percy asked, bewildered, watching the exchange between Annabeth and Jason.

"And I thought you wouldn't let me down... I was so sure you were going to name him Perry... After your Pillow Pet..." Jason pouted, forking over the $20 bill."

"Anyways, if you can take care of this little guy, then I know you'll be able to take care of a baby when the time comes." Annabeth crossed her arms, only half serious.

Percy chuckled, picking up the newly named Nemo and holding him up to his chest. "And I'll suppose you'll move to San Francisco with me too, huh?"

"We'll see," was all Annabeth said, before Piper popped in with a gift in her hands.

"Hey Annabeth, I have a gift that'll come in handy," Piper said mischievously, handing Annabeth a small wrapped box.

"What's in here?" Annabeth asked, tearing a little slit in the top of the box where the label would be.

Piper leaned over to whisper a single word into Annabeth's ear as Annabeth read the label on the top of the box, flushing bright red.

"Wh- why would... PIPER!" Annabeth stammered, completely flustered, as she ran out of the room chasing Piper, who was laughing her head off. "Why would you give me this?"

"You wouldn't want that baby all too soon, now would you?" They heard Piper shout as Annabeth shrieked in embarrassment, chasing Piper up the stairs screaming bloody murder.

* * *

**Le Author's Note (number two):**

Now wasn't that a nice chapter :)

Well anyways... I'm tired and I need to sleep

It's kind of late but Happy Birthday Percy! (still 30 minutes left of your birthday lol)

Bye guys! (that 4.6k word chapter tho)

-Aleavon


	34. The Warmth of a Hearth

**Author's Note:**

so i started the next chapter as soon as I posted the 4.6k chapter

looks like i'm returning to 1k word chapters cuz i don't get enough ideas lol

shhh its okay small children i'll try my best

anyways i'mma start actually writing the fic now

-Aleavon

P.S. Okay so high school started and i got over my league of legends addiction

soooo i'll finish the chapter now- 8/28/15

if i can work myself into a schedule i should be able to post a chapter every friday now ^_^

I'll try my best to get into a schedule lol XD

TY all for the continued support! :)

P.P.S ok so i lied now it's next friday and i still haven't finished a single 1k word chapter . cmon leanne you can do it we all believe in you

* * *

After a good one hour or so of everyone crowding Nemo, who was gladly soaking up the attention, celery, and petting, they once again returned to the living room, where the remaining gifts were given. All the while, Nemo was "reet-reet"-ing his way through it, absolutely shining under the attention he was getting from the crowd of adorers. As Jason set him down on Percy's lap, the ones who were more besotten with Nemo (Will and Frank included) crowded around him, cooing and reaching out to brush his orange fur.

As he watched the crowd (it's only like 5 people, but hey, 3's a crowd) look on in absolute awe of the furry little rodent, Nico chuckled internally as he saw how Nemo was more popular and loved than he would ever be. But nothing, no one could replace the fact that Will did, in fact, love him after all. It was a wonderful feeling, knowing that you were loved.

Nico had just begun to settle into the couch next to the questionably artificial fireplace, watching Will join the others in playing with the excessively furry Nemo as Jason walked over with a wide grin on his face. He sat down facing Nico on the couch beside him while holding one of his arms behind him.

"Hey, Nico, I have a present for you," Jason cheekily said as he tapped Nico on the shoulder with the arm that wasn't hiding the said present behind his back. Nico tried to look over Jason's shoulder to get even the smallest glance at the present, but to no avail, as even with

But before Jason could utter another word to prepare Nico for what he had gotten him, Percy shouted across the room, "Hey Jason, can I let Nemo run around on the carpet? He looks like he wants to explore. He can't harbor that little adventurous spirit inside him forever. Trust me, I know."

"Just make sure he doesn't leave little jelly beans all over the carpet!"Jason yelled, sauntering over to Nico with a grin on his face after leaving Nemo with Percy once again. In his hands was a folded red piece of clothing.

"So Piper was surfing Tumblr the other day and found this really funny sweater... She shared it with me and I immediately thought, _I have to get Nico one of these_. 'Nuff said. Hope you like it!" Jason said, trying not to burst out into laughter.

"Um.. okay..." Nico replied, unfolding the garment and then turning it around to look at the design on the front.

"Oh..." Nico quietly said, not sure of what else to say. The front of the shirt read "HO HO HOMO" in white cross-stitch lettering, bordered by a series of white line patterns. Just from the looks of it, Nico doubted that he'd ever wear it. He supposed it was sort of funny... but it would be more embarrassing than cool for him to wear it... and it wasn't exactly "his type"...

"Hahaha... I wanna see you wear it sometime," Jason chuckled, looping his thumbs in his basketball short pockets. "You don't know how long I've waited for this."

He looked Nico in the eyes pointedly, and then gestured towards the sweater in his hands. After a few moments, Nico finally understood what Jason was saying, and groaned, slumping down onto the carpeted floor.

"But I'm already wearing a jacket! And it's so... uh..." Nico protested weakly.

"So ugly? That's what it's supposed to be. An ugly christmas sweater!" Jason laughed, and then picked up the sweater, holding it up to Nico's chest.

"You'll look fine in it. Just put it on. Here, I'll hold it while you take off your jacket." Jason demanded as Nico stubbornly shook his head. The two then engaged in an intense glaring contest, and neither of the two would back down.

"C'mon Neeks! I never ask you to do anything for me... just this once?" Jason broke his threatening demeanor and went for the puppy eyes. He couldn't do it as well as Percy, Nico supposed, but the watery blue eyes did the trick. Nico finally caved and started unzipping his jacket.

"Oooh! Are we playing strip poker? I wanna play! The other guys in my homeroom taught me how to play poker, and I'm pretty good at it!" Leo cried, rushing over with a deck of cards with a big grin on his face.

Jason and Nico then turned and fixed him with their pair of electrifying-death glares, and Leo stopped in his tracks, then started slowly backing away. "Oookay... I guess that we're not...? I'll go now..." as he ran back to the kitchen where Calypso was re-braiding Piper's hair.

The awkwardness of Leo's outburst had silenced the two, making the atmosphere tense as Jason slowly handed the sweatshirt to Nico, who in turn swapped it for his jacket. Nico felt the cooler air outside the warm barrier created by the jacket raise goosebumps on his skin, causing a swift shiver to run down his back.

Once Nico managed to pull the goofy-looking sweatshirt over his head, he tried to regain his dignity by combing his fingers through his ebony waves in an attempt to fix the ruffling of his hair that the sweater had so annoyingly done. i need to redo this entire paragraph

Jason looked Nico up and down, stared at him in shock for a moment, and then burst out into laughter.

"PIPES! PIPES! IT'S OUR DREAM COME TRUE! NICO'S WEARING THE SWEATER!"

Nico couldn't help but feel somewhat teased as Piper stumbled into the living room and dissolved completely into a fit of giggles. After about 30 seconds of Nico standing there being watched by the two, Jason sobered up and guiltily grinned.

"Sorry for the laughter... I just didn't expect it to look so good on you. The irony is that it actually fits, and it fits you at the same time. I'm glad you'll be able to wear it. All I needed was to see you wear it once." Jason grimaced as Nico shot him another death glare. His torture was yet to come.

"I still can't believe he even got you to wear it. I was expecting for him to be chasing you around the house screaming at you to put it on." Piper said, smiling kindly to make up for the unintentional cruelty she had just subjected Nico to.

Nico sighed, still knowing that it was all in good fun. He guessed this is what his sister felt like when he made her dress up like Mythomagic characters... But it was good knowing that at least he could make others happy.

"Ugh, can I go now? And can I have my jacket back? I don't want anyone to see me in this... ever..." Nico mumbled... slowly shuffling back towards Will as he slowly pulled his beloved jacket out from Jason's arms. Jason just grinned and watched Nico as Nico gave him a weird look and walked away.

* * *

The inconsistency of the flames stirred something within Reyna, making her feel empty inside. But a small smile danced across her lips anyways. There was no one left back home for her to celebrate Christmas with anymore. Her sister had gone off to college years ago, and her parents were... no longer there, to say the least. The past few years had been lonely, staying in the big house that she had inherited from her dad... but she preferred living in the small apartment she rented on her own, earning money from renting out the large house and paying for everything she needed.

It was a pretty good life, but Reyna wanted something more. She wanted to be around people more. She wanted to connect, to understand, to maybe even love and be loved. Maybe she wasn't quite there yet...

Reyna turned and looked at the people she had gotten to know over the last year, and couldn't help but smile. She decided that maybe what she had now wasn't bad after all.

Jason noticed her sitting alone, and walked over to her, smiling.

"I forgot to give you your gift earlier... and I just remembered. Here, I'll show you in the hallway." Jason grimaced, and held out a hand to help Reyna up from the carpet in front of the fire and led her into the hallway.

"Honestly, this gift isn't really something new, but I remembered one day after the last football game of the year, you ran around the stadium frantically looking for something. You seemed really upset about it for weeks afterwards. So I asked around, and Gwen finally sent word to me that you had lost the ring your mom gave you before she left."

Jason scratched his head sheepishly, continuing, "Yeah, I know it was kind of stalkerish, but I wanted to make sure your memories from the last year of high school weren't sad at all. So once I learned that you lost your ring on the field, I remembered that no one ever cleans the football field except for tending to the turf, and only once every March at that, so I drove over to the school's stadium.

"I searched the entire stadium for three hours just so I could find it. I felt like I owed you something from all the times you helped me with school and the team... and my stepmom..."

Jason quietly sighed, and stuck his hands back into his jean pockets. The long corridor was eerily silent, neither of the two knowing exactly what to say. Finally, Jason took a deep inhale, let it out, and cleared his throat as he broke the silence.

"Well... here it is."

Jason pulled out an intricately engraved silver ring out of his jean pocket, still attached to a golden chain with a broken clasp, and handed it to Reyna.

Reyna, shocked, looked at her family heirloom once again returned to her possession, and didn't say a word for a good 30 seconds. Her dark brown eyes welled up with tears, and she hesitated for a moment before throwing her arms around Jason, her tears slowly running down her face.

"Thank... you..." Reyna uttered out, before closing her eyes and letting go of him, holding the ring tightly in her right fist. "How can I ever repay you? This was one of the most precious things I ever owned... I lost it, and now I've had it given to me by another one of the most important people in my life. I... I don't know what I can do to thank-"

Jason abruptly cut her off. "It's nothing compared to what you've done for me. I should be the one to thank you..."

The two of them stood in silence, each valuing the other's friendship to no end, and finally shared a smile and returned to the comfort of the humble fireplace.


	35. This Is How You Do It

**Author's Note:**

Hey everyone! Look! I updated! Aren't you proud of me? 3

T_T i'm such a bad author i'm sowwy

Nothing much to say, just thank you to everyone for the continued support through my writers' block!

See you in... uh... whenever i can think of writing!  
-Aleavon

* * *

_Geez, I'm glad I'm out of there. Sometimes just the two of them can drive me insane. _Nico rushed out of the living room, leaving Piper and Jason with a huff as Nico erratically tugged up the zipper on his jacket. After all the commotion with the sweatshirt and Percy's new guinea pig, Nico was glad for a moment to relax and breathe.

Well... maybe just relax. Breathing was a little difficult with the two outer layers on his torso. The extra layer was keeping more heat than Nico wanted inside his shirt, but he was definitely not going to pull out that sweatshirt in front of Will. He could probably withstand it till he went home, and after all, his dad wouldn't be one to ask. Wouldn't it be a little... weird to wear that while Will was there? The awkwardness Nico felt was not unlike the feeling when one gets caught with their fly down... Not something you'd want to be experiencing.

Nico shuffled on his socks through the waxed wooden hallway, looking forwards to the time he planned to spend with Will, who Nico knew would be sitting in the spot where Nico last saw him. Nico stepped through the large door frame that led to the secluded room in the mansion and finally returned to his spot on the small, soft leather couch next to Will.

Nico had been in deep thought as he walked, but once Will locked eyes with Nico, all of Nico's thoughts were shaken out of his mind. The sheer feeling of being here with Will completely overwhelmed Nico, making him draw in Will's presence like it was a long breath of fresh air after years of captivity.

Will welcomed Nico with one of his signature smiles and a quietly whispered "Hey", as Nico slowly sat down with all the bulky layers of clothing. Nico clunkily shuffled to a more comfortable settle in next to Will, who smiled and put an arm around Nico as he snuggled into Will's chest. With Nico's hip pressed against Will's hip, and his shoulders covered by Will's right arm, Nico felt like he was in a completely safe ball of warmth. He relaxed into Will's arms and chest and closed his eyes, enjoying the relative silence of the room.

Resting his head in the curve of Will's shoulder blade, Nico could feel the pattern of Will's breathing through the right side of his chest; In, and out, in, and out. Nico's mind drifted off into that pattern, eyelids drooping as he fell into the steady rhythm of Will's inhalations. After what felt like a blissful eternity, Nico felt a low rumble as Will cleared his throat to say something to the curly-haired Italian in his arms.

"You know... before you came back... I was thinking... about us." Will began taking in a sharp breath as he gathered his thoughts. He nuzzled Nico's still-tousled waves with his nose and inhaled the scent of his shampoo. It was an almost feminine smell, like flowers and vanilla, and definitely not what Will was expecting. It was nice though. Nico shook his head from the tickling sensation, causing Will to jump a bit from the unexpected movement. Will was quiet for a moment, and then suddenly let out a small sneeze, covering his nose with his left elbow so as to not jostle Nico. Will blinked in surprise in response, and then laughed, returning to his previous point.

"As I was saying... I was thinking about us. Today's Christmas, and we've got a while before we go back to school... Why don't we go out somewhere for New Year's Eve?" Will suggested hopefully, waiting for Nico's affirmation as Nico remained silent. Even though they had the past two months together since that first fateful project that had brought them together, Will still felt like he didn't see enough of Nico

"Like, out to the Jumbotron to watch the Ball Drop or somewhere fancy like a restaurant?" Nico wondered half-heartedly, still masking his joy at being able to go anywhere with his boyfriend. Nico realized that he would go anywhere as long as Will was by his side.

"Doesn't really matter. You can decide. I just want to be somewhere with you to start the New Year... and it's a tradition among couples to kiss at midnight then. I think we should go." Will smiled down at Nico again, and Nico felt his heart melt once again. "But the big crowd in Times Square doesn't sound too bad to me... We could go there if you want."

"I just want to share New Year's Eve with you." Nico replied. "It doesn't matter where we go, as long as I go with you by my side."

The lights from the nearby Christmas tree gleamed in the half-light room as Nico looked at Will, the little crystal lights shining with all their might as they sat in silence.

However, as Nico sat there in the close proximity, he felt waves of heat coursing through his body as his head started to spin. The discomfort was bordering on unbearable, but Nico knew there was only a little time left before he had to leave... and he could pull it off.

Nico scrunched up his forehead to try to clear the dizziness from his head without Will noticing, but it was too late. Will's eyes snapped to Nico's glazed-over ones and saw the rosier-than-normal complexion of Nico's face, and knew something was wrong. Will eyed the thick layers Nico had on, and then reached over to put the cool back of his hand to Nico's forehead.

"Nico, you're overheating," Will insisted in a worried tone, reaching for Nico's jacket zipper. "You've got to take off some of your layers or you'll fry to death in there! Well, maybe not _actually_ fry to death, but more like..."

Will pulled down the zipper and immediately stopped talking as he saw what Nico was wearing underneath. He gaped in shock for a moment, and then started giggling uncontrollably.

"Ahahaha... Jason got you too?" Will laughed as he pulled an identical sweatshirt out of his gift bag. Just looking at it made Nico feel stupid for even trying to hide the shirt in the first place. Of course Jason would get the two of them matching sweaters! After all, Nico was only one half of the relationship. "I had a hunch that he would have gotten you one too... but now I know for sure!"

Nico managed to blush even through his feverish face covered up most of it.

Will shook his head amusedly, letting a small smile grace his lips as he pulled the heavy coat off of Nico's shoulders. As the extra layer was removed, Nico inhaled needily as a gust of cool air washed over his upper body as he was freed from the confines. _Free at last, free at last... Thank Zeus almighty..._ Nico thought, chuckling to himself. He stayed in that position for a few seconds before he felt Will's fingers tugging at the hem of the Christmas sweater. Nico grabbed Will's hands and pushed them away lightly, replacing them with his own.

"I think I can manage this on my own now." Nico smiled as he pulled off the sweater, revealing the black Imagine Dragons t-shirt underneath. He neatly folded up the piece of clothing and grabbed his present bag to shove the sweater in. As he took out the gifts that he was given to make room for the sweater, he noticed a wrapped present at the very bottom that hadn't been opened yet.

"Hmm...? What's this?" Nico wondered out loud, dropping the sweater into the pile of gifts and pulling out the small, gift-wrapped box the size of Nico's hand. He peered closely at the tag and slowly deciphered the artistic loops and swirls of the handwriting on the piece of stationary.

"Huh... Will, this is for you... I found it in my bag but it doesn't say who sent it." Nico handed the box off to Will, and Will took it with a curious and hopeful expression in his eyes.

"To Will: Sorry that I haven't been around lately, but maybe we'll be able to stay in touch more with this! 3" The strokes of the pen ink seemed familiar to Will, but he couldn't quite place his finger on it. It wasn't Nico's... he had already given Will a gift. He hadn't seen the handwriting of any of the other teens, so it couldn't have been them. Then... who?

The golden glitter-covered gift wrap shed little bits of the sparkles onto Will's lap as he carefully undid the ribbon and the tape keeping the present so nicely wrapped. The ribbon fell to the floor as Will stared in amazement at the gift he was holding in his hands.

"This is..." Will whispered.

In Will's fingers was a box holding a brand new cell phone: The exact same one he had been asking his dad for the past few months. Will immediately knew that no matter what, it was his dad that had given him the gift.

"I- I can't believe it... I've been asking for a phone for so long... and now I finally have one!" Will cried, jumping into the air in ecstasy. He grinned as he lunged towards Nico, placing his hands on either side of Nico's head.

"Nico..." Will demanded, wide-eyed. "Give me your phone number!"

* * *

As they walked to where the rest of the teens were saying their farewells and "See you in two weeks!", Will suddenly stopped and turned to Nico with a devilish smile on his face.

"Hey Nico, you know what time it is?" He cheekily asked, no doubt up to something. But Nico let it slide and tossed back a retort, almost shutting Will down.

"You have a watch, dumbass."

"Ouch..." Will mockingly said. He reached over to his left arm and twisted his watch subconsciously as he remembered that it was there, and continued. "Well... look up, _dumbass._"

Nico looked up and saw Will reach up, snag something off the top of the doorway, and drop it on top of Nico's head. Will then proceeded to bend down and plant a peck on Nico's lips.

After a second of surprise, Will picked up the piece of... whatever it was that he had thrown onto Nico's head.

"What was that for?" Nico indignantly glared at Will as Will smirked, looking at what he now held in his hand.

"Give me that," Nico demanded, snatching it from Will's hand, leaving a startled expression on Will's face.

After a confused moment of trying to figure out what Will had done, Nico sighed and rolled his eyes, holding out the piece of greenery in front of Will's face.

"Mistletoe? Really?" Nico grumbled. He shook his head bemusedly and rose to his tiptoes and held the sprig over Will's head.

"This is how you do it, idiot," Nico said, putting his left hand on Will's chest and leaned in to kiss Will once more. As their lips connected again, Nico could feel the vibrations of Will's chuckling through the hand on his chest, and couldn't help but smile as they drew apart.

"Merry Christmas," Will whispered as he wrapped Nico in his arms.

Nico sighed contentedly and rested his head on Will's chest, not finding a need to say anything.

_I'd be happy staying like this forever._


	36. Too Cold Outside

**Author's Note:**

This fanfic is basically a story that contains all of my solangelo headcanons XD

I was planning something full of devotion and adoration to you guys but i forgot it while writing the chapter for y'all T_T i'm such a bad person i'm sowwy

just know that i love you guys and it makes me so happy to reply to one of your reviews 3

(by the way i do try to reply to every review i get if i see it in time before it gets lost in the deep abyss of my email inbox so i'm sorry if i didn't T-T)

Continue reading for another irregularly posted fanfic update ;)

AAAND cue the fluff T-T

-(a very distraught and feeling unappreciative) Aleavon

P.S. Wildest Dreams is stuck in my head while writing this thing so someone pls listen to it while reading or something idk you might get what I feel about Solangelo rn 3 .

P.P.S **Warning:** text format ahead: (...) is a text message box just btw ;)

* * *

The rest of winter break passed with almost a golden glow after the Christmas party and soon, Will had gotten into the habit of texting Nico every day at the most inopportune times: He'd text "Good morning, sunshine!" every morning, always waking Nico up with the buzzing tone of his muted cellphone. Throughout the day, he would always receive some small token of Will's adoration, such as a "I still miss you..." to which Nico would reply something sassily along the lines of "You're literally sitting two seats behind me." and usually managed to evoke a small laugh from Will.

The telltale buzz jostled Nico from his sleep once again, causing him to groan and roll over in his sheets sluggishly. Today was a good day for sleeping in... It was a Friday, after all. _Wait. Friday? Today's New Year's Eve! _Nico's mind immediately cleared as he remember the occasion that was planned for the day. He fumbled for his phone on the nightstand as he finally found the power button and turned it on, pulling it towards him, eager to see Will's text. Honestly, Nico hated being woken up early, but because it was Will, he loved it anyways. In the dark, pitch-blackness of his room, the screen of his phone illuminated everything with a soft pale light, causing Nico's pupils to constrict, adjusting after a few seconds.

_6:30?_ Nico thought, looking at the time on the home screen of his phone as he tapped open his messages.

Will Solace

(top o' the morning to ya, sunshine!)

_Read at 6:30 am_

Nico rolled his eyes although no one was there to see it, and replied with swift, nimble fingers on his smartphone.

Nico Di Angelo

(no.)

_Read at 6:30 am_

Will Solace

(T-T i cri)

_Read at 6:30 am_

Nico Di Angelo

(anything before 10 am is night to me. im going back to sleep.)

_Read at 6:30 am_

As he pressed the send button and the little read receipt scrolled onto his screen, Nico smiled as he imagined Will laughing while lying on his bed, more than likely already fully dressed and ready to start the day. Nico clicked the little button that blacked out his phone screen, and was pulling the covers back over him as the buzz emanated from his phone again. Nico inwardly groaned as he grabbed his phone and pulled it back into bed with him. Once Will got started texting, there was no stopping until he had to go.

Will Solace

(btw there's something else i should tell u... look outside)

_Read at 6:31 am_

Nico Di Angelo

(my bed's too warm take a picture for me)

_Read at 6:31_

Will Solace

(mkay 1 sec)

_Read at 6:31 am_

Nico impatiently waited for Will's picture as he absorbed himself back into his sheets, wrapping them around him like a cocoon. A few seconds later, the buzz jolted him out of his half-awake stupor and he opened his phone to see...

A selfie of Will draping his arms across a frowning Nico in their matching sweaters on the front porch of Jason's house. Nico internally smiled at the expression on his own face. Had he really been that grumpy?

Will Solace

(shit wrong one mb)

_Read at 6:32 am_

_Huh... No wonder,_ Nico thought, realizing that a picture of the party almost a week ago was probably not what was outside that moment... but what was?

Nico soon figured out as he saw the image of the winter landscape outside of Will's bedroom window blanketed by at least four inches of snow. Nico gaped at the picture on his phone, his eyes wandering over the whiteness that had swallowed all that was left of the greenery in front of Will's house.

Will Solace

(are you seeing this rn its insane)

_Read at 6:33 am_

Nico Di Angelo

(wtf when did this happen)

(it wasn't snowing when i went to bed last night)

_Read at 6:33 am_

Will Solace

(think it started snowing around 2 am )

(i mean i wasn't awake then it was too dark and i slept early)

_Read at 6:34 am_

Nico Di Angelo

(ey will)

_Read at 6:34 am_

Will Solace

(what...?)

_Read at 6:34 am_

Nico Di Angelo

(Do you want to build a snowman?)

(C'mon let's go out and play...)

_Read at 6:35 am_

Will Solace

(NO THAT MOVIE IS YEARS OLD I'M SICK OF IT)

(AND IT'S TOO COLD OUTSIDE)

(THE COLD ALWAYS BOTHERED ME ANYWAYS)

_Read at 6:35 am_

Nico Di Angelo

(T-T fine)

(wait then are we gonna go out tonight?)

_Read at 6:35 am_

Will Solace

(ofc not we're staying inside for the rest of the day)

(and we can watch movies or something idk i don't want to go outside)

(pls :*)

_Read at 6:35 am_

Nico Di Angelo

(... i'm not going all the way to your house this early in the morning)

_Read at 6:35 am_

Will Solace

(no one's going anywhere this early in the morning it's too cold)

_Read at 6:36 am_

Nico Di Angelo

(can i sleep now we can talk about this later it's still before 10 am)

_Read at 6:36 am_

Will Solace

(i would wait forever for you 3)

_Read at 6:36 am_

Nico Di Angelo

(mkay gn)

_Read at 6:36 am_

Will Solace

(*morning)

_Read at 6:36 am_

Nico smiled and scrolled back up over the texts, skimming over them and smiling at each of Will's replies to remind himself of the miracle that had happened to him. Every little trace of Will left him feeling all tingly and warm inside, giving him a sense of euphoria as his eyes drifted over Will's hermit-like winter habits. Nico sighed contentedly as he turned off his phone and rolled around in his covers once more, drifting back into unconsciousness, but with a certain golden-haired, blue-eyed boy on his mind.

* * *

Will sat in his room, waiting for the telltale sound of the sound that had come to be the herald of his little moments of happiness. He lay diagonally across the bed, with his blanketed feet and legs propped up on a pile of pillows. Will had successfully cocooned himself into a warm twist of quilts and sheets, and had his phone tucked into the second layer of blankets above his chest. Will's eyes were closed, basking in the warm bliss that he laid in, but he himself was still completely awake inside, waiting for the angel's call to achieve pure happiness.

"Bliiiing!" The tiny tinny ringing of Will's text messenger reverberated throughout the sheets, somehow amplifying the sounds and causing Will to oh-so-carefully inch the phone into his tucked-in hands without exposing his body to the cold. He cursed the broken heater that was scheduled to be fixed _next week_ and wiggled himself in closer with the rest of his blankets. Will turned on his phone, typing in the password three times before he could finally unlock it within the small confines of his blanketed cavern, and saw Nico's text.

Nico Di Angelo

(k im up now and i just had breakfast)

_Read at 12:30 pm_

Will Solace

(you mean lunch right... it's 12:30 now)

_Read at 12:31 pm_

Nico Di Angelo

(pshh sure whatever you say)

(now can you come over?)

_Read at 12:31 pm_

Will Solace

(its too cold outside...)

_Read at 12:31 pm_

Nico Di Angelo

(for angels to fly? ;) )

_Read at 12:31 pm_

Will Solace

(angels die... covered in white)

_Read at 12:32 pm_

Nico Di Angelo

(well you may be my angel but that doesn't mean

you're not getting your butt over here)

(besides our heater is like the only one in the entire

city's that's actually working... soooo...)

_Read at 12:32 pm_

Nico... had... a working heater? Well, there was no way in Tartarus that Will wasn't going over that second.

Will Solace

(O_O IF YOU WERE TRYING TO ENTICE ME IT WORKED)

_Read at 12:33 pm_

Nico Di Angelo

(does that mean you're coming over now?)

_Read at 12:34 pm_

Even though he was almost bursting at the seams with anticipation, he slowly, sloowly reached out towards his drawers and pulled out a hoodie... and then another hoodie... and then another hoodie. He pulled the articles of clothing into his blankets, waited for the clothes to warm up from the insulated body heat, and then slipped them on one by one. He repeated the process with the rest of his clothing, and then jumped out of bed, racing to put on his shoes, gloves, and his heavy overcoat.

Will Solace

(IM PUTTING ON MY JACKET NOW)

_Read at 12:35 pm_

Nico Di Angelo

(eeeeh?)

_Read at 12:35 pm_

Will Solace

(ILL BE THERE IN ABOUT 10 MINUTES WAIT FOR ME KEEP THE HEATER ON)

_Read at 12:35 pm_

Nico Di Angelo

(lel okay see u then)

_Read at 12:36 pm_

* * *

"Ding-Ding-Ding-Ding-Ding-Ding-Ding-Ding-Ding Dong! Ding-Ding-Ding-Ding Dong!"

"Huh... that sound seems familiar..." Hades mused as he looked up from his tablet, shifting in his seat on the black leather couches in the front living room. A warm afternoon glow creeped its way through the wintry, snow covered landscape, gleaming off the snowdrifts and the icicles clinging desperately to what remained of the trees. The sunlight seemed like it was draping an arm over Hades' back as he sighed, not wanting to leave his cozy spot.

"Ding-Ding-Ding-Ding-Ding-Ding-Ding-Ding-Ding Dong! Ding-Ding-Ding-Ding Dong!"

But there was still someone at the door that had to be answered. Zeus knows how long he'd stand out there in the cold if Hades didn't let him in. After a second of consideration, Hades forlornly lay down his tablet, brushed off his plaid flannel pajamas, stepped into his bunny slippers, and shuffled his way to the door.

Hades peeked through the mosaic-like sidelights and saw a heartwarmingly adorable sight.

Standing rigidly on the snowy front porch as Will, all bundled up in layers and layers of jackets, snow pants, and scarves, stuck out a gloved hand and mashed the doorbell. Will saw Hades in his pajamas and slippers and smiled with just a touch of guilt as he mimicked opening a doorknob, prompting Hades to let him in.

Hades couldn't help but hold in a chuckle as he unlocked the door for Will. Hades opened the door, and a freezing gust of icy winter wind blew into the house, but seemingly didn't affect Hades at all as he let Will step into the house and take up residence on the welcome mat as he closed the door behind him.

The shivering, snow-covered Will gingerly pulled off his boots, revealing another pair of sneakers underneath and setting them to the side on the mud room floor. He slipped off two pairs of gloves and hung them on the clothes rack. With frozen fingers, he slowly unzipped his jacket and draped that over a hook as he continuously peeled off layers of pants and hoodies until he was left with one pair of sweatpants and a grey hoodie.

Hades chuckled at the sight of Will's clothing taking up the entire 12-hook rack as he led Will around the puddle of freezing water and to the stairwell, where Will started to ascend the stairs, subconsciously following the flow of the warm air.

"Hey, Nico!" Hades called up the stairs. "Will's here!"

* * *

Will stepped into Nico's room and Nico smiled, standing up and reaching out to greet him. Nico wrapped his arms around Will's chest and rested his cheek on Will's shoulder, smiling.

"Now that wasn't so bad, now was it?" Nico chuckled, drawing Will into Nico's smaller body. As Will held him, Nico could feel Will's breath ruffling the top of his head, ensuring Nico of Will's presence.

"Is your bed warmer than the hallway?" Will replied, causing Nico to mockingly shove Will away and cross his arms.

"You only love me for my heater, don't you...?" Nico bantered, jokingly glaring at Will as he laughed.

After a second, Nico smiled and shook his head slowly, plopping back down on his bed as Will almost lunged for the huge bed, sinking slowly into the poofy covers and pillows.

"Have I ever told you how much I love your bed, Nico?" Will said, muffled, as he rolled around and around, gathering blankets like a rolling snowball gathered snow. Will sighed contentedly as he lay in his cocoon once again, savoring the warmth of the many layers covering him. Will stayed like that for a few moments, and then sat up to face Nico.

"Sorry that we had to cancel," Will said, breathing puffs of warm air onto his hands as Nico reached over to massage the feeling back into them. "I don't think I'd be able to stand being outside for much longer than those 10 minutes.

"Don't worry about it. If it's what you want, I'll be fine just staying inside with you." Nico replied, gently squeezing Will's fingers.

The familiar jolt of electricity that Nico had experienced oh-so-many times surged through him as he felt Will's fingers lightly squeeze back against Nico's. The warmth from Nico's fingers seemed to flow into Will's cold ones, and within a few minutes, they were once again functional. Will flexed his fingers experimentally and smiled. He leaned forwards to peck Nico on the cheek.

"Thanks boo. I don't know what I'd do without you." Will cheekily grinned as he rhymed. Nico rolled his eyes, but couldn't help but crack a small grin at Will's quip.

"Anything for you, sunshine." Nico replied.


	37. Naptime for Will

**Author's Note:**

This is honestly just Solangelo cuddly fluff T-T

but I love it

i might post another this week if I can get around to it

^cue the irregular updating schedule

-Aleavon ;)

* * *

The covers were warm as the blond wrapped the fluffy, feather-stuffed quilt around his chest, eliciting a groan in complaint as he felt a tug pulling the blanket back to the opposite side. He resisted the pull and reclaimed what was his. After what felt like an hour of pulling, he finally felt something warm attach itself to his back.

He could barely make out a "Fine... if you want it, I'll just share with you..." as a pair of arms wrapped around his upper body, pulling the two together.

Will sighed as the warmth engulfed him entirely and he snuggled back into the fluff, letting the arms around his chest pull him into a safe place in his mind.

* * *

Nico hadn't planned on sleeping that afternoon, but after seeing Will's eyes flutter shut after just a few minutes wrapped up in _Nico's bed_, of all places, how was Nico going to resist the comfort of cuddling with his sleeping boyfriend?

At first, Nico had just sat there and watched Will sleep on his back, arms wrapped tightly together underneath the blanket, his slow and steady breaths making his covered stomach rise and fall slowly, giving him a babyish look. At that moment, Will was the true embodiment of what would be a fallen angel; his golden locks fanned out underneath him in a halo, the miniscule bits of light reflecting off his hair and giving off an almost ethereal glow.

_And here, we have a sleeping Will. Finding him in this state is very rare, seeing as he is alert and awake every hour the gods-damned rays of sunlight have even barely touched the sky..._

Nico blew out a puff of air amusedly at his interpretation of Will's sleeping patterns, and leaned closer to just feel Will's presence next to him.

Nico laid down next to Will, propping himself up as he stared up at the ceiling, listening to Will's surprisingly quiet sleeping. Nico honestly had expected a cute snore or two, but there was nothing. He still loved the way Will looked when he was sleeping. The air seemed to completely fall still save for the steady rhythm of the couple's breathing. Nico could feel the tendrils of sleep tugging at the edges of his consciousness, and he let them carry him back into his realm of darkness.

* * *

He wasn't sure when he had fallen asleep with Will's arms wrapped comfortably around him, but he wouldn't mind waking up to Will's drowsy, smiling face just like this for the rest of his life.

"Good morning, sunshine." Will drawled unintentionally, still basking in the fresh afterglow of waking up on his own. He ran the fingers of one hand through his hair, while keeping his other arm tightly wrapped around Nico, keeping the two of them pressed together.

Nico yawned, and then sighed contentedly, nudging his head into the warm curve of Will's neck, hearing the steady sounds of Will's breathing as he shifted himself even closer into Will.

Will chuckled, the sounds reverberating through his chest as he put his other arm around Nico's lower back, rubbing up and down as he warmed up Nico's unblanketed backside. Nico groaned and shifted to try to relieve some of the chafing caused by his jeans digging into his legs, but failed, and flopped over onto his back, tearing himself away from Will's welcoming warmth.

"Mmmm... that was a nice nap..." Nico murmured, propping himself up with his elbows, as Will burrowed back into the covers, peeking up at Nico from underneath the covers.

"It's still cold though... Is the heater on?" Will meekly said, giving Nico the newly discovered puppy eyes that Will could pull off, melting Nico's heart all over again.

Nico rolled his eyes and tugged the covers off of Will with a single swift movement. Will whimpered from the shock of exposure, rolling over and clinging to Nico's still-warm body.

"N-Nico... it's freezinggggggggggg..." Will complained, trying to siphon the bits of heat from Nico's chest into his own in a desperate attempt to maintain homeostasis. Will sighed softly as Nico's body heat merged with his own.

"Will... you need to get up," Nico stated. "We've already been sleeping for..." Nico checked the digital watch on Will's left wrist, and exclaimed, "three hours...?! It's going to get dark out soon... Will... you have to go home..."

Will turned and smushed his face into Nico's pillow, groaning. "I don't wanna go home..."

Nico got up and pulled the covers back over Will, subconsciously allowing Will to stay in his bed for a few more minutes.

At that moment, Hades burst in through the door.

"Hey Nic- Oh, sorry... did I interrupt something?" Hades stuttered as he saw the disheveled appearances of the two boys on Nico's equally messy bed. Will had the covers thrown over his body, and Nico had them covering his lower half. Nico realized what his dad was implying and blushed an unnatural shade of pink, protesting with a groan of "Dad..." as he slid off his bed, leaving Will to sit up on his own.

Hades cleared his throat. "Well, since you're already paying attention..." Hades continued, pulling out his phone, "Will, your dad said that you should probably spend the night here since your house got snowed in. I've already set up the covers in the room across the hallway, and I'm about to head out to get some toiletries for you. Your dad should be dropping by later too."

Will grinned. "I have no idea what to say here so I'm just gonna smile. Your heater is amazing. I'm going back to sleep now."

Will gave Nico another half-hearted, drowsy glance before rolling over in Nico's bed and falling asleep almost instantaneously.

"Okay then... Well, I'll be back within 10 minutes or so. Don't let anyone in." Hades stated awkwardly, looking at Will's slumbering form.

"Sure, Dad." Nico said as Hades backed out the door.

Nico made sure his dad was halfway down the hallway before turning and slipping under the covers next to Will again.


	38. Together and Alone Again

**Author's Note:**

Hello all! Here's another irregularly posted chapter

I learned that if I can start planning my chapters the second I post the newest update, I can write them up pretty quickly

IFFFFF i have the plot of the chapter figured out already ;)

It's getting late... and I cannot seem to find my way home tonight...

Good night!

-Aleavon

* * *

"Hello? Everyone's alive? No one got eaten by a giant dog? Good. Less of a mess to clean up."

Hades greeted the two boys, who had finally gotten out of the bed and freshened up, with Will's father and Phoebus in tow. The golden retriever barked in excitement as he saw his owner and his new friend, dashing over to the two, barking and slobbering all over.

Will laughed, trying to push Phoebus down as he kneeled down to hug his dog. "Down, boy!" Phoebus complied, dropping down to sit on his hind legs as Will embraced him. "It's so good to see you again!" Will murmured, smiling. Phoebus wagged his tail joyfully as he jumped up, resting his paws on Will's shoulders.

Nico bent down next to Will, slowly stroking the golden dog's sleek fur, reveling in the amazement of having a dog inside the house. They once had a dog, but they had given him away to one of his dad's employees, Charon. Apparently they needed a guard dog... for their boat? Nico wasn't completely sure how that logically made sense, but he went with it. At least Cerberus had a home with someone who'd be able to give him the attention he needed.

Phoebus jumped off, deciding that that had been enough grandesque shows of affection, and turned back to Apollo, who chuckled and put down the bag of dog food he had been carrying. Hades led Apollo to the living room, where Phoebus immediately leaped up onto one of the couches, claiming it as his own.

"Well, I guess we won't need to trek through the snow again to get his dog bed... He was staying at Daphne's house." Apollo smiled warmly at the sight of his dog half-asleep on someone else's couch, and turned to Hades.

"Why don't we get you two settled in?" Hades suggested.

* * *

Nico's house was a lot larger than Will remembered as Hades gave them the grand tour of the house. There were at least seven bedrooms, multiple bathrooms, and an enormous second floor balcony in the back.

Will laid out his multiple t-shirts and sweatpants from the snowy trek he had made from his house in the small dresser in the guest bedroom he was staying in. He sighed as he sank down on the bed, reveling in the warmth of the thick quilt. At that moment, it was one of the best feelings in the world.

Two seconds later, he was up and running down the hallway down to Nico's room.

Nico's bed was leagues ahead... mostly because Nico was on it most of the time.

And he was.

* * *

The digital alarm clock read 10:00 as Nico tiptoed back into his room after turning off his computer. Now that there was an online multiplayer card game for Mythomagic, he had become overly attached to the game and was ranked #1 in his region, spurring him on to play for hours at a time.

Normally, he'd sneak back into his room later at night and sleep before his dad woke up to check on him.

This time, it was Will sitting on the bed waiting for Nico.

"Hey," Will mumbled, looking up at Nico with tired eyes. "I wasn't sure where you were, so I decided to wait for you-" He yawned, stretching his arms out as he did so, and then blinked up at Nico, who was smiling at Will again.

"You know, if you wanted to find me, you could have just listened for the only other source of sound in the entire house? My video games aren't exactly quiet, you know?"

"Too tired..." Will mumbled, flopping back down onto Nico's bed. Nico sighed at Will's laziness, but smiled internally at the adorableness of the situation and pulled Will off of his bed.

"C'mon, sleepyhead. Let's get you back to your room."

"As long as we're together..." Will murmured, head nodding as Nico slowly helped him walk back to his room.

* * *

Will didn't end up just staying that one night. In fact, Apollo and Will ended up staying for an entire week until the snow plows finally cleared up the roads. Of course, Nico had thoroughly enjoyed waking up every morning to Will's face, excitedly smiling as he awaited another day in the almost suffocatingly warm house. Once Hades had shown Apollo how to adjust the thermostat, the indoor temperature had skyrocketed up to a sweltering 74 degrees.

The Monday after that, the two boys returned to school, sitting with both Lou Ellen, Cecil, and Kayla's little group and the larger group including Piper and Leo. They soon managed to convince the two tables to merge, meaning Nico and Will could be in both cliques' company.

Mid-term exams slowly creeped up on the high-schoolers, slowly thinning out the cluster of people at the lunch tables as one by one, they slowly trickled out of the cafeteria to lug around their thick stacks of review sheets to remote places in the school in search for just half an hour of peace and quiet. During those two weeks, Nico scarcely saw Will save for the shared Band class, and even then, they rarely got a chance to even get past a quick smile or a wave before setting up their sheet music.

Some days, Nico ached just for Will to stop studying and just have him _be_ there. Anywhere... as long as he would be by Nico's side. Unconsciously, Nico started feeling and noticing his _lack of Will_ in everything. When he didn't understand one of the subjects he reviewed, he'd think, _Will would probably know what this was... AND give me three examples of how to apply it to real world situations..._ When the same Sam Smith song popped up on his playlist, echoing through Nico's mind in loops of _Can I lay by your side? Next to you... you..._, he remembered the steady breathing of his boyfriend's sleeping rhythm and the radiating warmth that they shared in Nico's bed all those afternoons.

The lack of Will was slowly driving Nico insane.

"Hey, Nico, are you alright?" The scrawny Latino sitting across from Nico was looking at Nico with concern in his eyes, waving a hand in front of Nico's nose.

"Huh? Sorry, spaced out for a second. Did you say something?" Nico replied blearily.

Leo leaned forwards, placing his chin on his waiting palm as he examined Nico closely. His eyebrows scrunched together as he said, "I was asking if you had finished studying for your exams yet, but there's something else on your mind."

Leo peered into Nico's eyes, and Nico quickly adverted his gaze, not wanting to... give away his true emotional loss? the vulnerability he felt at the moment? Nico wasn't sure, but that just meant he had to hide it away better. However, Nico could still feel Leo's eyes boring into him the way he would scrutinize a non-functioning machine. It was, to say the least, unnerving.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Nico finally managed to croak out, looking back at Leo.

"I'm trying to figure out what's wrong." Leo softly said, casting a sad glance at his two hands, still covered with a mysterious, greasy substance. "The thing is, with people, it's hard to tell what's broken about them when it's all inside. I can't fix something I can't see."

Nico sighed. "I'm... fine... just... distracted, that's all. I can't focus." It wasn't a lie, not really. He just couldn't focus on anything except for Will's absence, really.

Leo smiled halfheartedly, giving Nico a hopeful look as his phone buzzed. "Ugh... one of the freshmen set something on fire and I've got to run down and give them a little lesson in fire safety." He grabbed his backpack and tool belt, dashing out of the rows of cafeteria tables.

"When will these noobs learn how to use the damned fire extinguisher?!" Leo screamed as he ran out the door.

Once again, Nico was alone.


	39. Avoidance

**Author's Note:**

So I'm trying to kind of get on a schedule now...

and I was aiming for yesterday and i missed it

but here's the chapter anyways :)

-Aleavon

* * *

Nico trudged through the halls, backpack bumping along with his steady gait as he slowly walked through the clumps of people. The hordes of high schoolers around him were all blabbing about unimportant things, making Nico feel like he was being swept away in the current of concentrated words.

Three days.

It had been three days since he had talked to Will.

Three days since he had seen that curly, familiar mop of blonde hair, three days since he'd felt Will's warm, strong arms had wrapped around him, three long days in which Nico hadn't heard Will's warm, comforting voice.

Three days of insanity.

Nico hadn't realized just how used he had gotten to having Will always by his side, even when they didn't have classes in the same hallway. When Will couldn't walk with Nico at all, he'd text Nico as they individually weaved through the slow walkers in the hallway, sending little statements that would always make Nico smile.

These past three days, Will hadn't even turned on his phone. Every time they passed each other in the hallways, Nico would turn to wave at Will, but Will would act as if he hadn't seen Nico... or maybe he really didn't see Nico. There was always a textbook in Will's arms as he trudged slowly among the very people that the couple used to ridicule for their inherent sluggishness.

But luckily for Nico, in three days, Will would have no excuse but to face the lapse of time that he created. Will would have to acknowledge that it was his fault.

Finals were in two days, giving Will a chance to continuously use his decades-old excuse. However, Piper had invited people to her house on Saturday for an "After-Mid-Terms Party" through a massive chain email she had sent out, and Nico had been one of the first people to RSVP.

Nico had even stooped so low as to ask Cecil to track down Will's email on the chain and check if he had replied. Luckily, Nico had gotten his money's worth (already at a half-price discount since Nico had known Cecil for a while now), and Cecil got word back to Nico that Will was going to be at the party.

Perfect timing for a confrontation.

* * *

Hazel's bushy, chestnut hair filled up the little peephole on Nico's front door as she rang the doorbell, ready to pick Nico up for the chill party at Piper's.

"Hey, Nico, ready to go?" Hazel cheerily said when Nico opened the door. However, the second she saw Nico's gloomy demeanor, she knew something was up.

"Nico, what's wrong? You don't look well..." It was true. Nico didn't feel well either. His thoughts had been preoccupied with Will ever since he had gotten the invite from Piper. He had barely gotten 5 hours of sleep the night before exams, but he wasn't really worried about his grades. He was more worried about Will.

What if Will had suddenly realized that he didn't like to be around Nico anymore? He sure acted like it. Avoiding him every second of the day was enough evidence to support that.

Nico shook his head roughly in response to Hazel's statement, replying with a curt "I'm fine" and stepping out the door in his best pair of black jeans and a black hoodie. He pulled out his keys, locked the door, and followed Hazel out to the car.

Since neither Hazel nor Nico's dad could drive them to the party, and Nico didn't want to ask Will for a favor while he was acting like that, Hades had ended up calling the family chauffeur, Jules-Albert, to pick up Hazel and Nico.

Nico waved at the almost-skeletal man in the driver's window, who grinned back, revving the car in neutral as Nico walked over to the open left-side passenger door, sliding in as Hazel followed, closing the door firmly.

The second Jules-Albert heard the seatbelts clicking in place, he floored the pedal and peeled out of Nico's neighborhood, causing the tires to smoke and scream in agony. They cruised through the streets, having grown accustomed to the driver's erratic sharp turns and were at Piper's house in record time.

"Thanks, Jules-Albert." Nico said as the two got out of the car. The second Hazel closed the door, the former race-car driver zoomed off, leaving the smell of burning tires behind him as the two teens coughed in the residue.

Hazel smiled at Nico and asked, "Ready to go?" Nico offered her a small nod as he followed her through the huge yard to the ornate front door, lost deep in thought.

* * *

Many more people were at this party than there were at the Christmas Party. Hordes of people were filling up the rooms of Piper's dad's mansion, chattering excitedly, eagerly awaiting the arrival of the band to come play.

Nico was eagerly awaiting the arrival of his counterpart, sitting on the edge of an abandoned leather couch and staring at the people around him that he knew. Clarisse and Chris were by the huge rack of theatrical weapons, Clarisse scrutinizing them for historical accuracy and blabbing her head off about the time periods in which they would be used, and Chris nodding in agreement, staring at Clarisse's rarely let down hair.

Piper and Jason were standing at the door, welcoming late party-goers to her house. Jason rested his hand on Piper's left hip as Piper smiled and laughed along with the people who were relieved that the stressful days were over.

As Nico looked around, he noticed more and more people that he recognized from many years past. There were the twins, Connor and Travis Stoll, leaning on the side of a railing on the front porch, where Katie Gardener tended to a small daffodil that had wilted in the cold. Dakota, as always, was loading up a red SOLO cup with Kool-Aid that Piper had so generously provided, twitching random body parts as he reached for multiple refills. Soon, Gwen pushed through the crowd, putting a hand over the opening of his cup and chastising him for drinking so much of the sugary beverage.

Thalia and a few other girls dressed in a uniform silver were playing hide-and-seek tag in the shrubbery in front of the house, as some girls watched, sitting in the evergreen trees and bushes. Every now and then, a random boy would slowly and shyly trot over to talk to them, and they'd giggle and dash away, seemingly disappearing into the scenery. Rachel Dare, with her voluminous, red curls, sat on a bench with her beloved sketchbook, drawing the outlines of the chilled landscape. A familiar blond-looking boy sat next to her, clutching his iconic stuffed teddy bear and pointing out differences in her art and the landscape as she glared at him.

But Will was nowhere to be found.

Nico sighed, ending his scanning of the landscape, slouching over on the couch he was sitting on and pulled out his phone. He tapped open his text message, looking at the last text message Will had sent him.

Will Solace

(Goodnight, Sunshine! 3)

_Read at 11:58 pm_

Nico Di Angelo

(go to sleep we have school tomorrow)

_Read at 11:58 pm_

He quickly typed out a message, brow furrowed in concentration, and soon the text "Where are you?" was ready to send on his phone. His thumb hovered shakily over the the "Send" button, but after a moment of hesitation, he deleted his message and turned off his phone.

_If he wants me to know he's here, he can tell me himself,_ Nico thought, shoving his phone back into the back pocket of his jeans. He crossed his arms, scowling, and leaned back into the couch cushions.

His eyes unconsciously scanned the crowd of people for that familiar mop of blond hair, but he immediately stopped himself from doing so, focusing on a different familiar friend walking up towards him.

Reyna led a tall, skinny boy over to where Nico was sitting, and smiled, turning to him and resting her arm on his shoulder.

"Nico, I want you to meet someone."

Nico studied the boy's face. There was something off about him... But Nico couldn't quite put his finger on it. It wasn't his eccentric wind-tousled hair, or the small pocketknife that he gripped. It was more like... there was something strange about his gaze as he smiled at Reyna.

Then it hit him. The boy's curious looking eyes were almost all white. His dark pupils were a stark contrast to the light shade of grey, maybe even white, that filled the iris framing the black dots. As Nico examined those mesmerizingly dangerous eyes, the boy quietly cleared his throat and spoke.

"Hey. I'm sane." The pale-eyed boy said matter-of-factly, turning to Nico and holding out a hand to shake.

"Uhh... okay...? I'm Nico..." Nico thought that most people that were sane wouldn't bring it up, but, hey, not everyone's the same. Maybe his eyes weren't the only strange thing about him. Nico tentatively took the boys hand and shook, still looking at the boy weirdly, and then looking questioningly at Reyna, who was covering her mouth in what looked like... laughter?

The other teen pumped Nico's hand up and down vigorously, and then, as if he was holding it in for a long time, burst out into laughter.

"I'm just playin' with ya. My full name is Peter Sane. I'm schizophrenic... so people make a joke out of it. Nice to meet you, Nico."

Reyna recovered from her muffled laughter and reclaimed her posture as she put her hand on his shoulder.

"I met him in one of my classes in business school. I felt awkward coming to a Valentine's Day party without a date... so I asked one of my friends to come with me. And here he is."

Peter smiled, but with a tinge of sadness. It was obvious, even to Nico, that Peter was crushing on Reyna. From the second Nico saw him looking at the brunette with that softness in his eyes, Nico knew that Peter was head-over-heels in love with Reyna already.

He wasn't surprised at all.

Suddenly, a pair of very familiar sky-blue eyes met his, and flickered away almost immediately. Nico jumped up in response, startling Peter, and muttered a quick, "Sorry, be right back." and dashed off in the direction he saw those eyes.

Nico saw the blonde push through the crowd towards the dance floor, and Nico followed suit, chasing down his boyfriend.

Nico reached through a tangle of limbs and firmly grasped Will's forearm, dragging him out of the commotion.

"Got you. We need to talk." Nico bluntly stated, pulling Will roughly along behind him.

"About what? There's nothing to talk about? Can you just-" Will struggled to remove Nico's hand from his arm. "-let me go now?"

Nico whirled around to face him, glaring. "Why are you trying to avoid me-"

"Okay, first of all, don't speak to me like that right now." Will held up his free hand to Nico's face, stopping the rest of his rant. "I've had a rough week, and you're being really uptight about it. I just need to cool off, chill on my own for a while. And I'm not the only one being rude."

"Rough week doing what?" Nico stopped and turned back around, continuing his previous goal of dragging Will along behind him. "What is there that you could possibly be doing that can make you that busy?"

"I've been... uh...Studying?" Will replied, giving Nico a look that screamed, _Duh?_ Will finally succeeded in wrenching his hand out of Nico's iron-tight grip, rubbing his wrist as he demanded an explanation with a gesture that prompted Nico to continue.

Nico crossed his arms, glaring up at Will once again, and continued his rant. "You don't even bother to look up at me when I walk by you, or keep your phone on. Why don't you even try to pretend that you want to talk to me?"

"Listen, I can't always be next to you talking. I have a life too! I'm sorry that I'm not as naturally talented as you are in classes and that I actually have to study to get good grades!"

"Well you can at least say hi once in awhile? Or text me?"

"You know I'm ADHD! If I get distracted at all, I'm a goner!"

"Oh! Is that all I am to you? A distraction?"

Will's eyes widened and he clasped his hand over his mouth as he realized what he had said.

"No, no, you know I didn't mean-"

"I definitely know what you meant. If I'm just a distraction to you, then I'll stop _distracting you_ and let you _chill_ _on your own_ in peace!"

Nico stormed off through the crowd, ignoring Will's protests behind him.


	40. Confrontation Preparation

**Author's****Note:**

Hello!

Quick update before we proceed into more... interesting stuff ;*

More Peter in this chapter XD

Last chapter I forgot to mention that I DO NOT OWN PETER!

So so sorry!

Peter Sane is Thetruehero's OC that he asked me to pair up with Reyna, so we'll be seeing some of that action eventually. (Maybe at the aforementioned Valentine's Day party? oooOOOooooh~!)

Check out his fanfiction Peter Sane for more info about Peter in the demigod universe :)

Anyways...

Enjoy! :3

-Aleavon

* * *

Nico stomped his way back to the couch, where Reyna and Peter were sitting and waiting for him. Peter's gaze locked onto Nico's colder, darker eyes, and his brows furrowed as he leaned over towards Reyna, whispering something in her ear. Probably the fact that Nico was probably infuriated.

Peter couldn't be more right. Inside, he was still fuming from his confrontation with Will. What _had_ Will been doing? Studying couldn't have possibly taken that long, or been that stressful. One week? Why?

Nico slouched over to the couch, hands in his pockets. Reyna stood up, offering Nico her seat, but he stiffly shook his head, leaning on the wall nearby instead.

"Hey, Nico, what happened?" Reyna said, immediately sensing Nico's pain through her natural emphasizing. She put a hand out to touch his shoulder, and flinched back, immediately realizing the emotional turmoil that he was going through.

Reyna sighed, scooching over towards Peter to give Nico a spot to sit. "Here, why don't you talk to me about it. It's helped before."

Nico tried to argue against it, but was gently pushed down by a pair of strong arms into a sitting position on the couch. He looked up to see Peter's reassuring face. "Just give her a chance to help. You won't regret it."

Nico then turned to Reyna, who nodded in approval.

"First of all, you should probably try to breathe. Even Peter can tell that you're really, really tense. Just relax. Breathe."

Nico sucked in a deep breath through his mouth, complying with Reyna's request, and then huffed it all out in a big puff. Peter finally let go of Nico's shoulders, and sat down next to him on the armrest.

"Ready?" Peter said, smiling at Reyna, who looked pointedly at Nico. Nico rolled his eyes and crossed his arms.

"Now what? Do I get to talk about my feelings and then you tell me that it's going to be okay? Because that isn't particularly helpful." Nico looked Reyna in the eye, challenging her.

"Actually, I was going to ask about what _made_ you feel so bad." Reyna countered, tilting her head to one side. "You know, you're the only one who knows what happened, and if anyone's going to help, you need to tell us what's going so we can figure out how to fix it."

"I'm not the only one who knows what's going on." Nico sighed. "Actually, I still don't really know what's going on."

Nico looked at Reyna and Peter, both of them blankly looking back at him.

Nico pursed his lips. "I guess I'd better start talking, huh...? Well... Long story short, Will hadn't contacted me or spoken to me for 6 days. He texted me Sunday night from his house, but from that day on, he didn't even act like he was making an effort to talk to me. He turned his phone off, didn't even sit with me at lunch, and was just... gone."

Reyna looked at Peter, who looked back at Nico with concern in his eyes, and Peter awkwardly smiled and said, "So... what's the problem?"

Nico whirled around to face him with anger in his eyes. "THAT IS THE PROBLEM! Normally he's always there to talk to me, or he's always texting me. The past six days, he hasn't made one bit of contact at all!"

Peter held up his hands in surrender, leaning back "Sorry... I've never had a girlfriend or...well...I mean... you know... uh... Sorry? I don't-"

Nico sighed and waved it off, shaking his head. Peter closed his mouth awkwardly.

"Yeah, I know what you meant, Peter..."

Peter nodded gratefully in relief and Reyna looked at Peter curiously, eyebrow arched.

"You've actually never had a girlfriend?" She asked, with sudden interest in her eyes.

Peter blushed a little before nodding again, replying to Reyna's statement. "Never found the right girl. Well, actually no one likes me enough to..."

Nico cut him off again. "I thought we wanted to figure out what was going on and how to fix it?"

Reyna sighed, turning away from Peter, and put her hand on Nico's shoulder again, leaning in towards him.

"Can you tell me what he said?" She stated calmly.

"Um... Well... I tried to ask him why he was avoiding me... and then he said he was busy."

"Busy doing what?" Peter butted in, not wanting to be left out.

"Studying, or so he says. Everyone was studying last week though, it was midterms week, but they all had time to spare. Heck, even Octavian paid more attention to me than Will did!"

"Aahh... So is this about him not paying attention to you?" Reyna replied, smiling. "Did you try to contact him when he wasn't contacting you?"

"N-no... but-" Nico stuttered, trying to regain his stance, but instead turned a slightly pale shade of pink. "He's always the one who starts the conversation... because I never really know what to say in the first place."

Nico sighed as he tilted his head back, remembering the past. "And usually I'd end up ending the conversation with an awkward silence..."

Peter nodded in agreement, understanding Nico's predicament. "You mean like right now?" Peter asked.

Reyna slapped him upside the head. "Don't be rude!" She chided. Peter grimaced and rubbed the back of his head, but that expression soon turned to a smile as he watched Reyna roll her eyes at him and mention for him to be quiet.

"Do you know if there's something going on?" Reyna suggested, biting her lip in thought. "Maybe Will needed some time alone, since he was busy with studying, and possibly something else. Maybe something happened on top of all the studying and he just didn't tell you."

Reyna paused for a second and then corrected herself, saying, "Maybe something happened that he doesn't want to lay on you. You should go back and apologize."

"Bu-" Nico protested, but Reyna shushed him, looking him in the eye.

"Ask him what happened." Reyna finally said. "I'm completely sure that there's something he isn't telling you. Go back, apologize, and ask."

"Don't screw up the way you did last time! Try to... you know... chill?" Peter said, smiling.

Nico sighed and complied. He stood up and mentally prepared himself for his second confrontation.

Peter stood up, gesturing for Nico to go, and smiling encouragingly. "Good luck, bro."


	41. Echoes

**Author's Note:**

Your long awaited, irregularly updated fanfic chapter is here! :3

Sorry for the long wait, I had some school stuff to attend to

Aaaand a ginormous chunk of writer's block

Anyways, enjoy the fluffy cuddles (hehe) and see you next week (hopefully)

-Aleavon)

* * *

For what seemed like hours, Nico waded through the sea of people, drifting back and forth as they jostled and pushed him around. People were dancing to the music blaring through a pair of huge speakers just downstage of a local band from their high school. There were mobs of girls dancing and screaming along to the music -No one could really call it singing at such a high volume-, hordes of people hanging out by the refreshments table stuffing their faces, and just... people. Everywhere. However, every obstacle standing in front of him just pushed him to strive forwards even more, augmenting his desperation to make things right again.

Nico wandered alone, surrounded by strangers and people he vaguely recognized, stepping cautiously into each room he passed by. There were multiple living rooms, bedrooms, and dining rooms, but Will wasn't in any of them. But he knew Will had to be around here somewhere...and Nico was determined to find them.

As he wandered through the rooms with little success, his heart grew heavy with worry. What if Will had decided he didn't want to put up with Nico's mistakes anymore? And if they were broken... It would be Nico's fault. Nico couldn't live with the fact that he destroyed something so dear to him.

Finally, he saw Will, sitting alone on the back porch, twiddling with something in his hands. His head was tilted downwards so that his hair slightly shadowed his face, but from the rest of his stance, Nico could tell that Will was definitely not alright. He finally clenched his fists, and slid whatever he had been holding into his hoodie pocket. Will raised his hands to cover his eyes, curling up even tighter into his curled up position.

The guilt and shame filled Nico's heart, and he pushed himself to go out into the darkening light that shrouded the porch. Nico quietly slid open the screen door and slipped outside, sitting down next to Will but just far away enough so as to not bother him. Will had on such a pained expression that it hurt Nico to know that he had caused him that pain. _Is this really the effect I have on him? _

Will drew in a strangled breath as his shoulders shuddered to take in his next breath, and Nico realized that he had been crying. Will brushed his fingers through his own hair in an attempt to calm himself down as he wiped away the tear streaks glistening on his cheeks. Nico longed to do something, but he didn't want to intrude on Will's alone time. Nico understood the necessity of being alone sometimes... but other times, being alone could worsen the situation. What if it was the latter?

_I need to do something... I can't just sit here and do nothing!_

Nico gathered his resolve, drew in a quiet breath, and started with a quiet, "Hey," as he scooted closer to Will so that their shoulders were touching. Nico turned his head to look openly at Will's face, leaning in so as to show concern.

Will stiffened and sat up straight in shock, eyes wide open and mouth gaping as he saw Nico sitting there. Will huffed out a small breath, the droplets of moisture moving as a small cloud through the air before dispersing. He attempted to regain his composure, sighing and then replied to Nico's quiet greeting.

"H-how long have you been here?" Will stuttered, still shocked from Nico's appearance from the shadows. "You...I never saw you come out of the house!"

Nico smiled, finally having gotten a step closer to repairing the rift that he had torn between himself and Will. He gently put his right hand on Will's shoulder, mimicking Reyna's comforting gesture. _You can't screw up this time. Don't just think about yourself... Think about him._

Nico slowly exhaled, and replied, "I just got here... I've been looking for you. But how long have _you_ been out here in the cold?"

As if he suddenly realized the low temperature, Will shivered unconsciously and leaned into Nico. Nico slid his arm over Will's shoulders, resting his head against Will's as he softly embraced him. Will's love of warmth had once again returned to him.

"I don't know..." Will confessed. "I'm not even sure why I came out in the first place. Maybe somehow I knew that you'd come back to look for me out here."

Nico smiled as he remembered another moment between the two from a long time back, in his favorite Italian restaurant where he had confided in Will about his mom... and where they had shared their first kiss. The very thought sent shivers racing up his spine every time he replayed the scene. Before he had realized their parents were there watching the two of them, of course, but it was still nice while it lasted.

"Well you know I'm here now..." Nico murmured as he leaned in towards Will to plant a soft kiss on his cold cheek. Nico's slightly chapped lips brushed softly against Will's frosted left cheekbone. Then, he moved back a bit to whisper in Will's ear.

"And if you really feel alone, well, I'll always be here for you." Nico echoed the same words Will had said to him that day at the restaurant as Nico held Will tighter, sliding his other arm around Will.

It took Will a moment, but he remembered that those words were the exact same words that he had uttered when Nico was at one of his lowest moments. His chest filled with a warm, fuzzy feeling, and he smiled back at Nico, immersing himself in the joy from the memory.

"I'll be here with you, no matter what." Will replied, echoing himself

Nico sighed contentedly and pressed himself closer to Will, pressing both of their frozen cheekbones together as they looked out at the landscape.

After what seemed like an eternity of small cuddles and kisses in the cold, Nico remembered why he came outside in the first place.

"Actually... I came looking for you to... just... say sorry for how I acted earlier. I was just... lonely, I guess. You hadn't talked to me... or texted... in so long. Six days, actually. But I guess I understand if you really needed that time off to prepare for the midterms."

Will looked at Nico confused, and then his face fell. He looked at the ground, staring at the wooden grain of the porch they were sitting on. His fingers twitched slightly and his brow furrowed as he struggled to think of something to say.

"I...Actually, what I said earlier wasn't completely true... It wasn't all studying..."

Nico's breath caught in his throat. _Was Reyna right? Was there really something going on outside of school? And what if I just made it worse?_

* * *

**Author's Note (#2):**

now that wasn't too bad was it oh no okay look there's going to be some stuff next chapter that i just made a cliffhanger for :3

don't hurt me

*cowers*

-Aleavon


	42. A Burning Hell and a Burdening Truth

Author's Note:

Pheww... that took way too long for me to write

But it's here now

and i screwed up

enjoy 3

-Aleavon

* * *

"Will," Nico softly said, trying not to seem too intruding. "Is there something... going on?" Nico shifted so that he was completely turned towards Will. Nico reached out to Will again, but Will slowly turned away, drawing his hands into tight fists, an expression of immense pain present on his once-happy face.

Will continued to stare at the wooden boards of the porch, picking at the mahogany red paint that coated the surface, not replying, but not denying it either. Will had completely pulled away from Nico again, curling back up into his previous isolated position.

Nico suddenly felt a sense of dread overwhelm him. The situation seemed oddly... familiar.

It suddenly clicked in Nico's mind. How had he not noticed before? The way Will was acting... It easily mirrored how Nico had treated everyone around him once Bianca died.

He suddenly feared for Will. Nico had been just like Will before the incident... and if Will had to go through the same thing, Nico couldn't live with letting Will break apart and shatter the way Nico did so many years ago. After all, Will had reassembled him. Shouldn't Nico do the same for Will?

"Will. I'm serious. If there's something... something that's happened... you know you can tell me. I can help you. Don't withdraw into yourself... All you really need to do is talk about it, or you'll just make it worse. I've been there. I know what it's like. So please, just... talk to me..."

Will furrowed his eyebrows and squeezed himself tighter as his shoulders started to shake again. Nico tried to reach out to Will, but Will turned away, keeping his back to Nico as he shakily inhaled uneven breaths of the wintry air.

Just seeing Will in this position refreshed the feelings that Nico had experienced after the loss of his beloved sister, and his heart ached to remember the burning hell that he had gone through all on his own. He itched to jump on him and just _make_ it all better, but at the same time, he couldn't help. He didn't know how to completely cope with his own loss, let alone Will's.

As Nico quietly waited for Will to recuperate, he looked back on the time that they had spent together. It really was amazing that they had come so far together. If it weren't for that one project, Nico may have never noticed Will.

If Nico had never noticed Will, and Will never had a chance to get to know Nico, where would the two of them be today? Would Will have ever been able to come out to anyone else? Would Nico have been able to love anyone else? The changes that had occurred were mind-blowing when he thought about it.

Today, it was as if he needed Will there to breathe. And today, Will needed him. If Nico couldn't be there for Will, all that they had built together would have been for nothing. Their relationship had to be tested one more time. If it could hold, then they'd grow even stronger. If it didn't... well... it would collapse in on itself.

Nico saw Will push down his shoulders, straightening his back, and Nico knew Will had decided to talk. Will finally took a slow, deep breath, like Nico knew he would, and Will quietly said what had been on his mind during the entire party.

"My mom... and my sisters..." Will turned around, staring teary-eyed into Nico's worried expression.

Tears rolled down Will's face as he explained the reason he had been so preoccupied in the past week. Nico drew Will close and wiped off his tears as they came, ignoring the dampness of his sleeves. He drew in a ragged breath and began his recounting of his side of the story.

"Monday morning, my dad got a phone call from the hospital. There was a late-night car accident on the Interstate highway and they needed another pair of hands in the ER since someone was out sick. He arrived at the hospital, and... he saw Mom being wheeled in on a stretcher with Liz and Sam sitting on a bench nearby. They were both crying. Cassie was begging the nurses to let her go in with them. "

Will turned to Nico, desperation visible in his entire defeated form. "Dad's been at the hospital for the past few days... and she still hasn't woken up. My sisters are okay... but Dad hasn't been back to take care of us, so I've had to make all the meals, pack all the lunches, tuck all of my sisters in, and walk each of them out to the school buses in the morning."

Will sighed and buried his face in his hands again. "It's not like I'm just taking mom's place by doing housework. I've had to teach times tables, correct grammatical mistakes, and do all sorts of homework alongside the studying I had for the midterms. Then today, when you... you... got so angry with me while I was just trying to hold things together... I snapped."

Nico's eyes widened as things fell in place. Will was using his time at school to prepare for his own schoolwork, and in his spare time at home, he was supporting the rest of his family on his own. On top of it all, Nico had gotten in a fight with Will for not giving him enough attention, and Will even had a reason why he was busy. But... Nico never knew.

"Will, why didn't you tell me? If I had known earlier, this would never have happened. Next time... just tell me. You don't have to carry all of this on your own."

Will looked up at Nico, tears once again starting to form in his eyes. "I didn't want to burden you as well... You know this. I don't want to bring others down just because I'm down."

Nico smiled sadly, rising up to hug Will. Will gratefully accepted the gesture of affection, and leaned his head against Nico's.

"It's going to be okay, Will. Your mom will get better, you'll pass your midterms, and we're going to stay together. You don't have to worry anymore." Nico closed his eyes, priding himself in being able to comfort someone. It was a funny feeling. At that moment, Nico finally felt needed. Truly needed. As if the two of them were the last two humans on earth and they were clinging to each other in isolation. Needed.


	43. Loving Smiles

**Author's Note:**

I did it but i lost my work last week and i took the SAT yesterday so i just rewrote it be happy i'm so sorry XD

-Aleavon

* * *

The reconciled couple each had resolved their insecurities about the other's previous actions. Nico now knew Will wasn't cheating on him or disinterested. The past week had just been very stressful for his significant other and Nico simply didn't understand the situation enough. Will, on the other hand, was much more relieved after he had spilled his secret. Nico once again took the role of the comforted, Will holding him tight in his arms.

Will let out one last sigh and straightened his back, breaking the embrace between him and Nico. A rush of cool air breezed in between the two boys as they separated. Nico looked at Will worriedly, wondering if he had done something to make Will He slowly stood up, smiling down at Nico, and held out a hand to help him up.

"I'm alright now." Will said with his familiar, cheery grin once again resting on his face, although more . "We should probably go back and enjoy the party while it lasts."

"What if I want to stay here with you?" Nico pouted in a mocking tone, a sad expression on his face, but then smiled and stood up, taking Will's hand. He then raised himself up onto his tiptoes and pecked Will on the cheek.

Nico saw Will flush a very becoming shade of red as Will looked down awkwardly and stuttered, "I-I mean... w-we don't have to go in if you'd... rather... stay out here? It's c-cold outside though."

Nico laughed, a sound that he had feared he'd never utter again after he had ran away from Will earlier. Only Will could make him laugh like that. Only Will could make him happy like that.

"I'm just kidding. It's getting cold for me out here too. Let's go back inside. I have some friends that are waiting for me."

Nico turned towards the door, grasping Will's hand as he led Will back inside. He stepped over the step leading back into the house and sighed as the warm air enveloped him.

Nico smirked as he said, "Plus, it's so cold out here that my lips are starting to chap and then I can't kiss you."

Will made a strangled sound behind him and hurried back into the house. Nico smirked as he shut the glass porch door behind them.

Suddenly, Will wrapped his arms around Nico from behind him, drawing Nico into his larger form. Nico gulped as he felt Will's warmth radiating from behind him. The body heat seemed to flow from his core out to all the extremes of his body, leaving Nico with little sparks of excitement and joy flittering about in his stomach.

Will apparently had realized the effect that the close contact had on Nico. He chuckled, the vibrations buzzing against Nico's shoulder blades, causing Nico to inhale sharply. "Now what were you saying about being cold?" Will taunted with a mischievous look in his eyes as he squeezed Nico tighter.

Nico blushed, mirroring Will's equally flushed complexion. He tried to think of a witty response as he turned around to face will, but all he could think of was "Shut up and just kiss me."

So he did. Will pulled Nico up onto his tiptoes as he bent down to eliminate the space between the two. The blonde's modestly toned arms locked Nico into a warm, secure embrace, his fingers grabbing hold of the hem of Nico's t-shirt.

The cracked skin on Nico's pale lips stung as Will's lips met his, but he soon forgot the discomfort as Will swept him away. Nico's exploring hands found their way to Will's back, grabbing fistfuls of the soft sweatshirt material as he pulled Will into him. Will's warm breath ghosted Nico's cheek as he pulled back ever so slightly to say...

"I think your friends are watching us..." Nico watched as Will's azure eyes flicked up and focused on something on the other side of the room, and then looked back down at Nico's flushed face. Will released Nico and settled for just holding his hand.

Nico whirled around to see a very red-raced Peter and a smiling Reyna with her arms crossed. Her very stature broadcasted the phrase, "I told you so." This time, Nico supposed, it was okay for her to be like that. After all, she had finally gotten him to go back after Will. Without Reyna's guiding, he might have lost and broken the most important person in his life.

"So, I suppose you two made out- I mean made up?" Peter stuttered, looking at Nico, still partially shell-shocked from seeing Will and Nico's little private moment. His eyes then flickered to the curly-haired blonde still tightly gripping Nico's hand and he added, "I'm Peter, by the way. I'm Reyna's..." Peter paused, something on his mind, but then shook it off, and finished off with "... Reyna's friend."

Will smiled back jokingly at Peter, not at all intimidated by Peter's abnormal eyes. Of course, Will wasn't one to judge people by their appearances.

"I suppose we did both, didn't we, Nico?" Will laughed, the sound ringing through Nico's ears as if it was the voice of an angel. Nico wondered, dazed, what he had ever done to deserve Will's attention and presence.

"I'm Will, by the way." Will replied, mimicking Peter's earlier way of speaking. He had successfully broken the ice, but they sunk just a bit deeper into the

There was a quiet moment as the four teens exhausted their small talk and tried to think of something else to say. Will finally broke the silence.

"Has there been anything interesting going on here? I would hate to have made Nico miss all the good stuff for me."

"You know I would be perfectly happy to stay here with you..." Nico muttered under his breath, smiling.

Peter pantomimed thinking really hard. "Uh... some girl barfed on some other girl's shoes, and then they got into a huge fight... one of them ended up having to be restrained and kept on the other side of the house, and another guy broke the ping-pong table by jumping on it and doing his own rendition of Let it Go..."

"Nope, nothing interesting going on." Reyna interjected.

"Hopefully Piper's next party will have something interesting. Isn't it going to be on Valentine's Day?"

"Right!" Peter exclaimed, jumping up. He walked in front of Reyna and gently took hold of one of her hands. Awkwardly, a smile spread slowly across his face as he tried to link the words that he was trying to express together.

"Uh... Reyna... Since we're talking about... I mean... on the..." Peter paused, collecting his thoughts, but then ducked down his head and knocked his knuckles on the side of his temple, muttering, "No never mind, give me a second..." After a moment of silently mouthing words, Peter straightened up.

"I'm just going to straight out say it. Reyna, will you go to the Valentine's Day Party with me?"

Reyna beamed, intertwining her hands with his. "Do you know how long I've waited for you to ask me? Of course I will!"

"Wait... you were just waiting for me to ask you?" Peter scratched his head, confused, Reyna still covering his hands with her own.

"Yup," Reyna replied, beaming. "Why do you think I asked you to come here with me in the first place? I knew you'd be brave enough to!"

Peter truly smiled, looking Reyna straight in the eyes, gratefulness and affection shining through his eyes. Reyna had an expression on her face that Nico had rarely seen before. As he wondered at her reaction, he realized that Reyna was really... in love.

"I'd never have thought that Reyna would have found someone that fit her like this so soon... I can't even imagine that she would ever find someone like him."

Will smiled kindly, acknowledging the newly formed couple. Nico wrapped his arms around Will's midsection, heart bursting with happiness or his good friend and her counterpart.

_Eros smiles upon us all. _


	44. Decisions, Decisions

**Author's Note:**

Hey everyone! Sorry for the hella long hiatus that I had - I lost inspiration for a bit and went on a week of vacation so I couldn't really write :(

But I'm back now!

Hopefully I can maintain something like a schedule but no promises because I can't stick to them w

Cue the fluff!

_**Special thanks to Thetruehero for helping me out so much during this chapter! He helped me get over my writer's wall lmao**_

-Aleavon

* * *

Soft, delicate footsteps weaved in and out of the partygoers as one gorgeously messy, brown haired, spectrum-eyed girl strode through the hallways. As she wandered through her house, she stopped momentarily in front of each room, glancing in for a moment and searching the scene, picking out each individual detail in the room.

However, when she didn't find the expected scene, she moved on hastily, trying to execute her goal swiftly. Where were they?

Finally, Piper reached the living room at the end of the corridor and peeked into the room, catching the attention of the four people she wanted to see and breaking the ambience of the four friends' reunion.

The heartwarming scene in front of her almost made her melt. Nico and Will looked as if they had just gone through hell together and survived, and Peter and Reyna were standing side by side, like usual, but there was less tension between the two.

There was an air of happiness in the general area and she smiled knowingly as she realized what had just happened. Piper smiled, stepped into the room, and gestured to the couples as if to apologize.

"Sorry for interrupting, but a couple of us have started a game of Kiss, Kill, Marry if you guys want to join us? I had a hunch you four would be interested." Piper explained her motif, twiddling her thumbs as the four turned to look at her questioningly. After a moment of silence, a general agreement settled over the group, and one by one, they voiced their agreements.

"Sounds fun to me!" Peter said, possessively but gently grabbing hold of Reyna's hand, intertwining her fingers with his. Reyna started for a second, not completely used to making physical contact with other people, but then relaxed, and squeezed back in Peter's grip. Nico noticed the small interaction and couldn't help but feel a rush of happiness for the two.

"I think that'll be fun, Nico." Will grinned as he leaned down to whisper in Nico's ear. "But only if you don't act on anything that you say during the game."

Nico smiled and retorted, "Well, you'd better hope that you don't get picked for me because I wouldn't want to kill you."

Will laughed at Nico's simultaneously sweet and threatening statement as they followed Piper out of the living room, shuffling behind her in their socked feet.

Piper led the four up the stairs and through a maze of hallways before arriving in a very large, plain bedroom. At first, Nico thought it was just a spare bedroom, but as he looked around and recognized a bronze, triangular mirror propped up on a dresser, a turquoise dress laid out on a bed, and a heavy army jacket draped on a jacket stand, he realized that it was actually Piper's surprisingly unfurnished, but large bedroom.

In the center of the beige carpeted floor sat the same circle of friends there had been at the Christmas party, although with quite a few additions. Some of the students at Jupiter High had joined them, like Gwen and Dakota, and this time, Thalia and her friends Luke and Zoe had joined them. Grover and Tyson, two of Percy's oldest friends, were also sitting by him.

"Neeks, wanna join us? This game sounds like it's actually going to be fun!" Percy smiled, with those hopeful puppy-dog eyes that Nico could never say no to.

"Hey, hey, hey... Neeks! You ready for a game of KKM?" Leo mimicked Percy's usage of Nico's nickname as he grinned, waving the pair over. Calypso, gripping Leo's hand tightly, smiled and waved at them.

Nico turned to Will, who, not to be outdone by Percy's charms, picked up Nico and carried him bridal style to the circle of teens and gently set him down. A general "aww..." echoed through the room as everyone saw the adorable couple enter the ring.

As they walked, Nico could feel his cheeks burning, but he looped his arms around Will's neck anyways, silently hoping that Will wouldn't drop him but trusting that he would be safe anyways.

After everyone got settled, there was a general feeling of uncertainty in the room, hanging over them like a sheet of mist.

"Okay guys, we can start out with a few ground rules to clear things up," Piper started, taking over as the host of the game. "This way we can make sure the game will go forwards smoothly."

"First," She started, holding up a finger and looking everyone square in the eye, "You cannot skip out if it's your turn. You can take sixty seconds for consideration, but stalling for time isn't fair for everyone else. Plus, it's just a game, and we won't judge you..." She grinned devilishly. "... that harshly."

"Second, if you're picking the Kiss, Kill , Marry for a person, do take into consideration people's preferences. Let's assume everyone is bi for now just to make the game go faster."

"Third," Piper said, with a thoughtful look on her face as she tried to come up with a third rule. "Uh... why don't we... go for seven rounds at first and then see where we go from there?"

"Sounds good to me!" Leo said, rubbing his hands together. "Who's first?"

"I'll start," Percy suggested, as he studied everyone at the circle. The gears in his head turned as he looked over all of his friends sitting around him, and then finally came to a decision. He grinned devilishly at the short-haired "Punk Queen" sitting slightly to his left as he settled on the three people he was going to present to...

"Thalia," Percy stated, looking her square in the eye. "Kiss, Kill or Marry... Luke, Annabeth, or Grover?"

"Ooh... That's a tough one, Seaweed Brain." Thalia replied, snapping her gum. "Are you sure you'll be ready for this?"

"Bring it on, Pinecone Face!" Percy retorted, using the nonsensical nickname that they had established when they were younger.

Thalia's demeanor completely changed as Percy's choices were decided. She blew out a puff of air and rubbed her face exasperatedly.

"Uuugh..." Thalia groaned, putting her face in her hands. "Why did you pick three of my best friends? I can't deal with this."

She chewed thoughtfully on her gum for a moment, and then said, "Marry Luke. I mean, Grover, you're a great friend... but I've known Annabeth like a little sister... so... I'll have to kill you and kiss Annabeth."

Grover opened his mouth as if to speak, but then forgot what he was going to say. Then, he laughed, readjusted his rasta cap and jokingly taunted, "Even after all I did for you?"

Thalia grinned and elbowed him in the ribs. "You'll probably just reincarnate or something. Don't worry your curly little head about it!"

Percy laughed as Thalia tried to think of who she was going to KKM. Her eyes gleamed as the perfect person and idea popped into her head.

"Annabeth," Thalia smiled as she presented the three people. "Kiss, Kill or Marry... Tyson, Luke or Percy?"

"Shit..." Annabeth muttered, and then turned a bright shade of red. It was very rare for anyone to hear Annabeth curse -in English, that is- and Percy amusedly smiled at her reaction. Her answer was obvious to him; but little did he know what she was going to say.

"It's me you're marrying, right?" Percy cheekily grinned as he draped an arm around Annabeth. She blushed a slightly deeper shade of red before thinking of a retort.

In response, Annabeth replied in a serious tone, "What if I told you... I'd marry Luke, kill Tyson, and kiss you?" as she poked a very flustered Percy in the chest.

Percy stammered, "Wh-What? But..."

Annabeth laughed and threw her arms back around Percy's neck, pulling him in for an unexpected kiss. Everyone in the room awkwardly stared and/or chuckled at the making out couple before Travis wolf-whistled, causing them to break apart.

"Don't you ever doubt how I feel about you. Of course I'd marry you." Annabeth said again, and released Percy so that she could take his hand.

A choked sob was heard from Percy's right as Tyson buried his face in his hands. Everyone knew about Tyson's adoration of Annabeth. But he only looked up to her as an older sister of sorts, not really romantically. Or at least that's what they assumed. The buff, brown-haired wrestler suddenly stormed out of the room, slamming the door as he went.

"Oh no, Tyson..." Percy muttered, racing out of the room, Annabeth quickly rushing out next to him.

Annabeth poked her head back into the room for a quick moment, saying a quick "We'll be right back!" and dashing after Tyson into the maze of hallways.

"Okay... I guess that works..." Piper mused. "I guess I'll do the next one then?"

"I guess so, if you wa-aaa-nt." Grover said, looking worriedly towards the closed door that a very angry Tyson was outside of. The nervous bleating sound that always came out when he was anxious was present in his fearful voice.

"Let's see..." Piper said in a thoughtful voice. "Who's gonna go next?"


	45. Choices and Laughter

**Author's Note:**

IT IS 11:43 AS I FINISH WRITING THIS SO TECHNICALLY I'M STILL ON MY SUNDAY POST SCHEDULE HAHAhaaa

-(frantically typing) Aleavon

* * *

Outside Piper's bedroom, the party was raging on, and the pulsing of drumbeats coupled with the occasional shriek was giving Nico a slight headache. He liked having quality time with his boyfriend and the rest of the friends he didn't get to see frequently, but did it have to be in the midst of this environment? The last Christmas party was nice, there were less people there, and he had his time with Will as well.

_I ain't got no business here_

_But since my friends are here_

_I just came to kick it but really_

_I would rather be at home all by myself not in this room_

_... So tell my friends that I'll be over here_

Nico was thrown out of his thoughts Piper held up her hands in a "shush" motion as everyone heard the boards outside the door creak. A scuffle of footsteps slowly got louder and louder and then...

The bedroom door creaked open as the departed trio walked back in, with Annabeth's arm around Tyson's shoulders and Tyson sniffling into Percy's shirt. Tyson, dragging his feet, slowly released himself from his two friends' grasps and lowered himself down back into his spot at the circle. Annabeth gave Percy a worried look, but also returned to where she was sitting near Tyson.

Thalia furrowed her brows at Percy as he sat down next to Annabeth, slowly taking Annabeth's hand. Percy offered Thalia a slight smile, giving her a thumbs up to indicate that Tyson was, after all, okay. As the three re-settled into their spots, the game started up again.

"Hm... Who to pick, who to pick... this is gonna be good!" Thalia sing-songingly said, smiling at a certain boy sitting a few spots away from her.

"Luke," Thalia cooed, smiling. "You're next!" A rare mischievous glint was sparkling in her eyes as the short-haired girl playfully addressed Luke.

The floppy-haired blonde sighed, rolling his blue eyes. He crossed his arms and impatiently said, "Let's make this quick, shall we?"

Thalia immediately retorted, "Well, I bet you'll spend quite a bit figuring out this pairing. Kiss, Kill or Marry... Percy, Annabeth and Connor!" She grinned, proud of her set up, and then sat back to watch the outcome unfold.

"Hey!" Travis butted in, pausing in his lock-picking practice and pouting. "What about me? Connor always gets all the attention."

Thalia laughed. "You'll get your chance next time, buddy."

Travis, seemingly satisfied with the answer, resumed picking his MasterLock and attempting to slip an unidentified object down the back of his brothers' shirt.

After a quick moment of consideration and deep thought, Luke grinned. "You aren't serious, right? That's easy!"

At the moment this was spoken, Nico noticed something out of the ordinary out of the corner of his eye. Annabeth was trying her best to not let any extreme emotion appear on her face, but he could tell she was fighting back something. Most of the people in the room were aware that Annabeth and Luke had some sort of relationship before she had started dating Percy, but how serious was it really?

"I'd marry Annabeth, kiss Connor, and kill Percy." Luke finally replied.

"Oi!" Percy exclaimed, leaning threateningly towards Luke. "Are you trying to steal my girl? I mean, I understand you killing me, but _marry_ Annabeth?"

Luke glared at Percy. "First off, it's just a game. I also would not want to kiss or marry you, and Annabeth is clearly in love with you. Of the choices I was given, I made the best decision that I could."

There was clearly still some animosity and tension in the air between the three, but they quieted down as Luke moved onto the next dare.

"Clarisse, your turn!" Luke exclaimed. "Kiss, Kill, or Marry... Percy, Chris, or Grover?"

"Marry Chris." Clarisse bluntly stated as she grabbed her boyfriend's hand, gently squeezing it.

"And...?" Luke prompted, gesturing for her to continue.

"Uh... Kill Percy, and I guess kiss Grover?"

"Why does everyone want to kill me?" Percy complained, running a hand through his messy black hair. "It's not like I did anything to you!"

Clarisse gave Percy a look that said, '_Yeah, right_' as she replied, "Well no one wants to kiss you, _Prissy._"

Percy laughed at the mention of Clarisse's old camp nickname for him as he remembered all the times Clarisse had tried to hurt him. Of course, she had rarely even laid a finger on him, but she did get her lucky breaks every now and then.

Clarisse cleared her throat as she looked away from Percy, who was staring dreamily at the wall with a nostalgic smile on his face.

"We should probably move on, Jackson. And wipe that stupid smile off of your face."

"Hey, Travis," Clarisse finally said, "Your turn. Kiss, Kill, or Marry... Connor, Miranda, or Drew?"

"Ew! Connor's his twin!" Luke said with a disgusted look on his face. A couple of the Jupiter High graduates looked kind of uncomfortable with the concept, but the Olympus High students seemed totally fine with it.

"Um..." Travis submerged himself in deep thought for a moment before finally coming up with a response.

"Marry Drew, kiss Connor, and kill Miranda. I know we used to date, but now she hates me... so I don't really want to be anywhere near her."

Jason blinked. "Wait... why wouldn't you kill Connor? Isn't that like... incest?"

Travis grinned devilishly. "I mean, it's not like it hasn't happened before, so..."

The conversation ended with an awkward silence.

"Anyways... Do I get to KKM someone now?" Travis meekly asked, after being elbowed sharply in the ribs by his twin.

"Heyyo, Leo, Kiss, Kill, or Marry..." Travis started, eyes gleaming impishly as he looked across the circle at Leo. "Calypso, Piper, or Thalia?"

Leo turned beet red as Calypso turned and fixed him with a glare comparable to that of a hawk's eye, awaiting his response.

"Uh... Marry Cali... Kiss Piper, and kill Thalia." Leo turned to Thalia. "Sorry, but... you're kind of... you know..."

Thalia waved it off, gesturing for Leo to choose his person.

"Nico!" Leo said, jolting Nico out of his wallflower status. "I've got a KKM for you!"

"Um... Okay?" Nico said, sitting up straight."

"Kiss, Kill or Marry... Percy, Will, or Jason?" Leo finished.

"Uh..." Nico flushed bright red as he looked at the three best friends he had ever had. Percy laughed knowingly as Jason uncomfortably ran his fingers through his already wind-blown hair, and Will smiled but still had a hard look in his eyes as he watched the other two.

"I'd ... uh... have to marry Will." Nico immediately said, causing Will to smile and pull him into a hug.

"I love you too, Nico." Will said, still holding Nico.

"Of course..." Nico said, fully aware that there were people that he didn't usually talk to there, and therefore was uncomfortable completely expressing himself.

"And... uh... Jason... Percy..." Nico found it very hard for himself to choose Well, Percy... I'm sorry, but you're not really... my type?" Nico cautiously said, trying to piece together his words.

The room fell dead silent.

Then, everyone started laughing except for Percy and Nico.

"Uhhh... what just happened?" Nico said, looking around weirdly. Piper was laughing her head off, Annabeth was hiding a smile behind her hand, but they didn't let in on their inside jokes. The other people who had been aware of Nico's relationship with Percy were also hilariously guffawing while the two boys looked at the people around them awkwardly.

"Ahahahaaa..." Piper gasped for air. "Percy's not... your... type!" She dissolved into another fit of giggles.

Minutes later, the laughter had died down, and Piper wiped her eyes, saying, "Well, that was the last of the seven. What do you think we should do next?"


	46. Afraid of Secrets

**Author's Note:**

Just a reminder: If anyone wants to know more about Peter's background in the canonical universe, check out Thetruehero's fic titled Peter Sane! :)

Sorry I went on hiatus for a few weeks trying to get around my writer's block T_T I'm so sorry

Also, something I've noticed during the party scenes; Normally when I write simple Solangelo, it's from one person's point of view, but as the scope widens to more people, I start to write in an omniscient 3rd person view so it's not completely from Nico's POV anymore w

Honestly, guys, I'd have probably abandoned this fic if not for Thetruehero because I'm not getting any input from you guys since I really do care about what you want to read XP I love to PM and communicate or even see what guests think so don't be afraid to shoot me a PM or a review. You're slowly saving this fic :)

-Aleavon

* * *

"I kind of want to keep playing something, this is pretty funny..." Peter said, grinning maniacally and rubbing his hands together, glowing with an aura not unlike one of the Stoll brothers when they were up to no good. Peter had obviously been enjoying himself during the party and learning more about the other people that Reyna was friends with. It was easy for Nico to see that he would fit in very well with the rest of the crew.

"But I'm getting bored of just Kiss, Kill, Marry!" Jason complained. "It's all the same. Kiss, Kill, Marry three people you know, and then another person. We should do something more exciting, like Truth or Dare!" Jason was always one for the big dares; internally, he probably was testing himself by imagining if he could do the dares given to everyone else. It was written all over his face.

"I don't know.. I kind of want to check out the rest of the party," Dakota forlornly said, staring sadly at his empty SOLO cup. Gwen smiled at him, rolling her eyes at the emotion he expressed towards his drink cup.

"There are a lot of people that I haven't seen in a while that I want to see again." Gwen stated, adding on to Dakota's earlier statement. She looked back at some of the other Jupiter High students and they nodded in agreement.

One by one, some of the people murmured in agreement and started to shuffle around, picking up their things and preparing to leave the room. A few of the others, especially the ones that were closer to Percy and Annabeth, continued to sit contentedly in their spots.

The group of people started breaking off into two groups, looking awkwardly at the other as they reengaged in their private conversations. The larger connection they had made within the circle had dissipated as if nothing had happened at all. As a small amount of people slowly trickled out of the door, Nico quietly reached for Will's hand subconsciously, as if to reassure himself that Will was still by his side.

"So we can probably do Truth or Dare and if they pick truth, you can do a Kiss, Kill, Marry scenario. And you're not allowed to dare the person who dared you. How's that?" Piper grinned as she anticipated all of the entertaining interactions they had experienced the last time they played this age-old party game.

"Am I up first?" Nico meekly asked, remembering how just minutes ago everyone had fell over laughing at Nico's responses, and a once-lost anxiety had built up in Nico again. The nagging thought of _What if I don't belong here? _ had once again filled his mind.

"Pick your victim," Jason replied jokingly, gesturing in a wide arc to indicate all the people seated at the circle. A variety of expressions were worn all around; Some were pumped and ready to go, others were slightly scared, and one or two were completely intrigued.

"And may the odds be ever in your favor," Calypso quipped in a perfect British accent, and everyone, including Nico, burst into laughter. The discomfort that Nico had felt earlier completely vanished, and he once again was happy sitting with all of his other friends.

In the midst of all of the laughter, Nico saw Thalia stifle a yawn, as if she wasn't really enjoying herself but she didn't want to be rude to her friends, who were enjoying the game. _Well, why don't we do something about her being bored?_ Nico thought, internally smiling. _But do I have a good idea for her? _

"Hm... Who to choose?" Nico turned to Thalia, smiling.

"Truth or Dare, Thalia?" Thalia's eyes widened as she realized she was caught, and she sheepishly grinned, running her fingers through her choppy hair.

"Truth. I've got no problem with a Kiss, Kill, Marry." Thalia replied cockily.

Nico smiled, a hint of something scary coming up to the surface of his being. "It's not a KKM, Thalia. What is your greatest fear?"

Thalia's eyes widened in shock for a split second, but her fearless attitude was gone. Instead, she completely radiated anxiety, the uneasiness clearly written all over her face. She awkwardly cleared her throat, trying to lessen the attention that she was receiving at the moment, but everyone's attention was fixated on her.

"Um..." Thalia paused, a quiver in her voice. "Do I have to?"

"Come on, you can tell us..." Luke coaxed, meeting her electric blue eyes with his turquoise blue ones and laying a hand on her shoulder, spurring her on.

Thalia's closed off demeanor slowly melted at Luke's encouraging gesture. "Well..." She shrunk down, almost curling herself up into a ball as she resolved herself to tell the truth she was asked.

"mfrdfhghts" She finally squeaked, her voice intelligible.

"Could you say that again? I don't think any of them could hear you." Luke cautiously asked Thalia one more time.

Thalia took a deep breath, and almost painfully said, "imafraidofheights"

"Thalia... Dad's a pilot... and so am I..." Jason said, dumbfounded.

"I know... and that's why I kept it a secret. That's the reason why I never got my pilot's license. It was never about my time and priorities... I just can't be that far away from the ground."

"I only found out by accident," Percy added. "We were going on this really steep ski slope a couple years back and she completely freaked on me."

Thalia's gaze was pointedly fixed on her grey socks.

"Can we move on now?" She unamusedly said, trying to rebuff the attention laid on her. Thalia furrowed her eyebrows for a moment, and then the realization dawned upon her that she had a chance to retaliate.

"Well, if I can't dare Nico..." Thalia trailed off, locking eyes with the blonde sitting next to Nico. Will shrunk back under her piercing gaze. "Then... I'll dare Will. Pick your poison."

Will hesitated, and then said, "Dare...?" He sat up and took a deep breath. "Okay, what is it?"

Thalia smiled wickedly. "I dare you... to let someone dump an entire tray of ice cubes down your sweatshirt."

Will froze - not quite literally, but stopped moving in spite of the irony.

"You would really do that to me?" Will whined, almost pleading with Thalia to change the dare that she had given him, but she was unchanging.

"That just made me completely sure that I'm going through with my idea then." Thalia turned to Piper. "Could you get me some ice?"

Piper nodded, and promptly dashed off. They heard her footsteps slowly disappear outside the room as she walked off into the maze of hallways.

Anticipating that Will would be at least slightly affected, Nico turned to check on Will. And Nico was very clearly right. Will's eyes were wide in shock, as if fearing for his life. Nico smiled awkwardly and laid a hand on Will's shoulder in an attempt to comfort him. Will smiled sadly at Nico, thinking ahead and preparing himself for the torture that he was about to be subjected to.

Before too long, Piper ran back up with a tray of ice cubes. As she prepared the tray, loosening the ice cubes, Jason chuckled lightly and Will stifled a strangled scream. A small squeak still escaped his covered mouth through his fingers as he saw the water vapor subliming from the surface.

"I-I-I don't know if I can d-d-do this..." Will stuttered, the small blue tray of frozen water leaving him the most scared Nico had ever seen.

"Will, how come you have a problem with ice cubes but not me?" Nico dryly joked as he lay his hands on Will's forearm. "I'm perpetually cold."

Will pleadingly sighed. "That's different... I like you. I don't like ice." He looked helplessly around the circle as Piper slowly presented the ice to him. A visible shudder passed through every limb of his body. His Adam's apple bobbed as he gulped.

Thalia ceremoniously took the tray of ice cubes from Piper's now cold hands, sauntered over to Will, pulled away the back the hood of his sweatshirt, and held the ice over the opening.

The second the ice cubes made contact with Will's skin, he let out an almost supersonic shriek, the sound ringing through everyone's ears. Thalia clutched her violated ears, wincing in momentary pain.

"Zeus knows how you made that sound..." Thalia grumbled.

Will shuddered, the ice slowly melting down his back. "Dad says... I get it.. fr-r-r-rom him..." He stuttered, the unbearably cold liquid dripping down his back. Another small squeak escaped from his mouth, causing even Nico to let out a small giggle.

"Nico... help..." Will whimpered, begging Nico to remove the ice. His pair of blue eyes morphed themselves into a puppy dog expression, and Nico found that it took all of his will power to not do anything. Will pouted, looking even more pitiful than he had before, and then Nico couldn't take it anymore.

Nico slipped his hand down the back of Will's shirt and removed the half dozen ice cubes, dropping the remaining ice back into the tray. A dark, wet, and cold spot on the back of Will's sweater soon became apparent as Will discarded his outerwear, only to reveal another identical hoodie.

"... Will?" Nico said, gesturing to Will's second hoodie underneath.

Will chuckled and shrugged awkwardly. "You never know if you're going to get a tray of ice cubes dumped down your back. Or if you get snowed out of your house. Or if-"

"We get the point." Hazel cut him off, not unkindly.

"Well, I want my revenge." Will jokingly glared at Thalia. "So... What'll it be? Truth... or Dare?"

"Jason." Will finished.


	47. Golden Days

**Author's Note:** Man it feels like it's been years since i've been free to update my fanfiction.

For those of you who don't know (basically everyone except for Thetruehero), I've been stage managing for a school production: Beauty and the Beast. It literally drained all of my free time - I was called every day from 4:00 pm to maybe 9-10 pm and I'd get home super tired and then have to do homework, so I had to make some cuts out of my personal projects, and sadly, updating this wonderful fic was one of those cuts.

A big thank you to all of you who have been patiently waiting for this new chapter and a thank you to Thetruehero for checking up on my progress; every time I get one of those emails it makes me write so much faster since I know people want to read!

Please enjoy my 1,702 word update and hopefully I will update again soon! :)

\- Aleavon

* * *

Jason turned his head, confused, from left to right, and then looked back at Will. The confused look on his face was similar to that of a lost chicken's, his head cocked to one side, eyes open wide, and he blinked, fluttering his golden lashes against his cheekbones for all of a second.

"Me?" Jason exclaimed, looking incredulously at Will. Will's curly hair bobbed up and down as he nodded, a slight challenge present.

"About time. Give me a dare... if you dare." The corners of his eyes turned up as he grinned at the curly haired blonde challenging him.

Jason smirked and asserted, "I can take on anything you can think of."

"Fine then." Will retorted. "Then are you man enough to strut around the circle in just your boxers?"

Jason kept a straight face, but inside, he was freaking out. "Dude, what? What about, like, eating raw eggs, or... okay, yeah, you got me." He sighed, resigning and accepting his fate.

"So, how long do I have to do this?" Jason meekly asked, a seldom used adjective when describing him, but a perfect fit for his expression. The tips of his ears had turned bright pink, and a tinge of crimson splashed across his cheekbones.

"Hm... How about you run around the circle once and then sit for five more minutes like that?" Will said cheekily, a cold but playful glint in his eyes.

Nico's eyes narrowed into slits, looking at Will with a "What the hell are you doing" expression, but Will waved him off and gestured for Jason to continue.

Jason said nothing as he squeezed his eyes shut, his cheeks flaming red as he pulled of his purple t-shirt, his shoulder muscles flexing as he reached down to take off his cotton-white socks.

"Do I really have to do this?" Jason complained one last time, but Will's hard gaze bore into Jason's reluctant expression, and Jason took a deep breath as he pulled off his basketball shorts and dropped them on the ground behind him.

The room was silent as they drew in the sight of Jason standing almost naked in dark blue boxers with a Superman logo on them. A small giggle escaped from Piper as she slapped a hand to her mouth, trying to hold in the laughter, but she could only resist for so long before her melodious laughter rang throughout the entire room. Nico couldn't help but stifle a giggle at the sight of Mr. Blonde Superman actually... wearing Superman boxers.

Jason rolled his eyes, still partially smiling, and started his lap around the circle. As Jason slowly made his way around the outside of the ring, Nico had to, whether he was into it or not, Jason had a very nicely toned body. He wasn't overly bulked up, like Beckendorf or Bryce, but he had more than enough muscle to cover up a once lanky and skinny figure. The fluorescent light in Piper's bedroom glistened on Jason's lightly tanned skin, filling in all of the curves and angles of his body. The strands of golden hair resting on his forearms turned white in the light, and as Nico admired Jason's beauty, he felt a hand lightly grasp his shoulder.

Will whispered quietly into Nico's ear. "Don't deny that you're turned on by this. Honestly, anyone would." Nico couldn't help but blush, his boyfriend slightly smiling at Nico's discomfort. Nico's hands clenched and unclenched in his frustration - he didn't want Will to think he would take a pass at any ripped blonde guy that walked by, but then again, it was Will's idea...

After a few moments, Jason's discomfort had melted away, and he walked in a much more... loose manner. He had taken upon the role of a runway model, shaking his hips as he took small, slow steps, stopping to pose every now and then. As he passed, Jason even mimed tossing back long hair and shot a mischievous blue-eyed wink at a hysterically laughing Percy.

"I'm sorry that people are jealous of me. I can't help it that I'm so popular." Jason joked, quoting Piper's favorite movie as she fell over laughing. As the almost-naked blonde basked in the attention, his motions and steps grew more and more exaggerated with each passing moment.

Finally, he completed his circle and sat back down next to Piper, tossing his bare arm over her shoulders. By this time, everyone, even Will, whose face was completely red, was hysterically As the laughter died down, Jason kissed Piper on the cheek.

"I'm sorry everyone's seen this much of me now..." Jason said forlornly, placing a hand on her knee in apology. Piper just smiled at his gesture and his apology, sighed, and waved it off.

Jason returned to his criss-cross position with his arm draped around Piper. In the meantime, Will's face flushed bright red as he cleared his throat, addressing Jason somewhat awkwardly.

"Hey, Jason, you can... you know... Put your clothes back on n-ow." Will's voice cracked at the last second, causing everyone to let out a series of giggles again.

"You sure? You look like you're... enjoying it." Jason seductively said, wiggling his eyebrows as Will turned an even darker shade of red. Nico shook his head, smiling, as he jumped to the curly-haired blonde's rescue.

"I think he's had enough for today. If you wouldn't mind... I don't think he's the only uncomfortable one here right now." And sure enough, there was a certain couple turned around, facing the foot of the bed. Frank and Hazel had their backs to the circle with his hands over Hazel's eyes, and Hazel had covered his hands with her own. Even from this distance, the tips of Frank's ears were bright pink.

Jason immediately pulled his t-shirt and shorts back on, glad to be shielded from the prying eyes of his colleagues, but leaving the socks behind him as he wiggled back into his spot.

"You can turn back around now, guys." Jason laughed, and the two innocent teenagers did so slowly, looking uncomfortably at the blonde. Frank protectively put his arm around Hazel and blinked, trying to clear his mind of the scarring occurrence that had just passed.

A small tremor ran through Nico as he felt a preemptive sense of dread creep up on him. The people sitting around him were chatting away and smiling, but Nico couldn't help but be afraid. He was quite aware that there was nothing to be afraid of - he just felt scared.

Impulsively, he stood up and quickly walked to the door and yanked it open, dashing out of the room, much to the surprise of the rest of the people.

"Nico, wait up! What's going on? You've been looking kind of... off since we started playing." Will's brow furrowed as he chased after Nico, worry in his eyes.

"Was it because I made Jason strip?" Will continued. "Because you know I love you and if that hurt you, I'm really, really sorry."

When Nico heard those three words, a small flutter awakened in his chest, bringing back memories of the time they had spent together.

_The first kiss at the restaurant that tasted of warm pizza sauce._

_Will promising to Jason that he would never hurt Nico._

_The two of them coming out as a couple to Hazel._

_Sharing the highly contested chocolate chip cookie._

_A dorky kiss under the mistletoe on Christmas._

_Getting snowed in and taking a lazy nap together._

The individual memories and feelings started to come back to Nico, and he finally stopped and turned around to face the person he had come all this way with. "It's... not really that. I just needed to get out of there. There was just too much happening in there and I just needed some time to breathe."

Will could tell that Nico was still holding something back, but he let it slide, as there was still a lot that was on both of their minds.

The door quietly shut behind the two as their footsteps quietly left behind the chaotic room. Nico heaved a heavy sigh, and as the social pressure was lifted from his shoulders, he found that it was easier for him to think.

Will smiled behind Nico and slowly put his arms around the shorter teen. Will nestled the side of his head into the crook of Nico's slender neck. The rare sensation of warmth emanated from Nico, and for once, they shared their bodily heat.

Will felt Nico's breath hitch and chuckled. "You said you came out here to be able to breathe..." Will mumbled in a low joking tone as he pressed his boyfriend into the curve of his body. "...but now it sounds like you're more breathless than anything."

"You're kind of squeezing me..." Nico dryly said, making a half-hearted attempt to wriggle out of Will's grasp. "I can't really breathe anyways."

Will complied and released Nico, sensing that he wanted to talk. Nico slumped down against the wall, Will sitting criss-cross across from his recovering boyfriend. Nico took a deep breath, and that deep sense of unease started to overwhelm him again.

_Oh gods, it's happening again..._ Nico frantically thought, standing up and stumbling wildly through the hallways, trying to get outside into fresh air and away the maze of hallways and the loud bustle of the crowds. A mysterious darkness started clouding Nico's vision.

Will immediately jumped up and chased after Nico, finally catching him and trapping him to the wall to keep him from running away again.

"Nico, you're obviously not okay. What's going on?" Will pleaded, looking fearfully into Nico's eyes.

Nico grabbed Will's hands in a desperate attempt to have something to anchor him to his consciousness as the darkness slowly started encroaching in upon the corners of his fading vision.

"Nico! What's happening? Talk to me!" Will's frantic voice echoed through Nico's thoughts. Nico felt his shoulders being roughly shaken. Somewhere inside him a strong urge yearned to reach out and reassure Will that he was okay, that he was fine

"Promise you'll never leave... my Sunshine." And then he was falling, down into that once familiar black abyss.


	48. Resignation and Determination

**Author's Note:**

Hey everyone, I broke my promise to get the chapter out earlier in the week so you all can hate me now and leave raging reviews flaming me for my time management.

I'm really bad at prioritizing for this fic even though I love you guys so much so don't hate me... too much XD

Here have some Solangelo sweet moments its nothing much really just wait for next week :3

\- Aleavon

* * *

A bright, white, fluorescent light illuminated the bleached white furniture and walls of the cramped chamber. Alternating blue and green tiles decorated the linoleum floor, bringing a tinge of Through the window, Will could see a bedside desk, an empty vase with flowers, and a half-empty IV drip hooked up on a stand beside Nico's head.

"Nico, when's the last time you ate?" Will demanded as Nico blearily opened his eyes. How could he have not noticed that Nico was skinnier than he usually was? When did Nico start having blackouts?

"Huh? Um... Dad made me eat a bagel this morning..." Nico mumbled, slowly blinking his eyes open as he took a deep breath. He leaned forwards, attempting to sit up, but Will pushed him back down.

"You're too weak to sit up right now. It's been five hours since you've passed out and you're finally awake..." Will trailed off, sorrow clearly present in his watery blue eyes. "I was so scared that you wouldn't wake back up."

"You haven't been regularly eating, have you." Will said, focusing on Nico. "How did I not notice...? I'm supposed to be here for you... and I just let you starve yourself." His eyes widened with his grief as he locked eyes with Nico again.

"I'm always scared you're going to leave me... I could barely focus on anything when you didn't talk to me..." Nico murmured, clutching Will's warm hand with his two freezing ones. The chill from Nico's hands seeped into Will's, the pressure from the two's withdrawn embrace leaving white streaks on Will's hands.

The blonde looked down at their intertwined fingers. They fit together perfectly, the grooves of their knuckles nesting the other's digits comfortably as their shared connection strengthened both of the boys' resolves.

"Nico," Will said as passionately as he could, "I will be here to hold you up in your weakest times. I will be here to catch you when you fall. And best of all, I will be here with you in your best and happiest moments so that we can share our memories together till the end of time. Don't you ever worry about me leaving you. Worry about yourself. I'm scared that you'll forget to take care of yourself and I'll... lose you and I don't think I could..." Will trailed off, his gaze shifting to the wall behind Nico as he forlornly sighed.

"Just take care of yourself, okay?" Will smiled and ruffled Nico's hair, planting a kiss on Nico's forehead. "I love you but you need to love yourself too."

Nico's heart thudded as Will reaffirmed his affections and the raven haired boy sat up quickly, holding his hand out to Will. Immediately he flinched, rubbing his forehead in pain.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Let's get out of here!" Nico exclaimed, looking disgustedly at the commodity around him. He held his hand in the air, but Will made no move to accept it.

Will chuckled, shaking his head and pointing to the IV drip above Nico's head. He grabbed Nico's hand, but used it to guide Nico back down into a resting position.

"You're going to have to wait for them to pump the rest of the IV drip into you. Your dad and I aren't allowed to take you back home until it's empty. And you're obviously not strong enough to stand back up."

Nico sulkily humphed and brought his hand back down, propping the pillows up behind him and sitting back at an inclined angle, tenderly looking up at Will with those dark chocolate eyes.

Will melted inside, like he did most of the time when Nico looked at him, but a deeper part of him ached knowing that his dark-haired angel had been hurt. Will had promised to protect him, but he hadn't been able protect Nico from himself.

Sometimes it just seemed like there was too much going on with Nico. He had come from a traumatizing family loss, and where most people found solace and happiness, Nico found hopelessness and fear. Especially in their relationship.

Sometimes Nico would become insecure about Will's feelings for him, or feel inadequate, and the fact that Nico couldn't always enjoy himself when they were together made Will feel inadequate as a companion.

Will shut his eyes for a moment, resolving his inner will to do his best to make Nico realize just how much the latter meant to Will. Will was determined that Nico would find solace one way or another.

"Are you okay?" Nico asked, causing Will to blink open his eyes in surprise. Nico had his head tilted weakly to the side, causing a few strands of hair to fall over his cheek as his dark brown eyes probed Will's expression, looking for an explanation for Will's behavior.

Will smiled, more confident about their relationship, and reached forwards to brush the stray strands framing Nico's face, planting a soft kiss on the spot his fingers had brushed.

"I could never be better while I'm with you." Will finally replied, taking one of his boyfriend's hands into his warmer palms and holding on like there was no tomorrow.


	49. A Short Little Interlude

**Author's Note:**

So i did the unthinkable and posted a chapter with much less that 1k words...

Hell, it's only about 380 but I finished this segment and thought you guys deserved at least a little snippet

So let's call this an interlude and get into the more interesting things, shall we? ^_^

-Aleavon

* * *

A few hours later, one of the nurses quietly knocked on the door to Nico's hospital room. After standing and waiting for a few moments, she peered into the window of the room, and smiled warmly as she took in the scene before her. The lighting in the room was dim, as the small, fluorescent bedside lamp flickered irregularly, blinking off time with the slowly ticking clock. Still, the small bulb shed off enough luminescence to make its surroundings barely visible.

A disheveled, curly haired blonde slept splayed out on one of the visitor chairs next to the bed, limbs thrown everywhere. His head rested on the stiff metal backing of the hospital bed, but still appeared comfortable enough for him. As she peered closer, she noticed a small gleam of drool tracing down the side of his cheek, making him seem like a small child.

One of his hands was loosely clutching both of the raven-haired boy's, the only non-violently straying body part in contact with something else that looked so delicate. The dark-haired boy, on the other hand, was peacefully sleeping on his back, his wavy locks spread out on the pillow underneath his head, seemingly crowning him with a black halo. He had his hands crossed on his chest, sandwiching the blonde's left hand between them. The blanket was loosely draped over his midsection, barely brushing up against his elbows, and appeared to be on the edge of falling to the floor.

The nurse shook her head slowly at the small amount of happiness present in such a devastating situation, and pushed open the door, stepping in quietly so as to not disturb the sleeping pair. She washed her hands, put on her gloves, and set out to remove the IV from the smaller boy's arm, throwing out the rubber tube that had been in his arm and unclipping the bag from the pole for cleaning and reuse. She pulled up the white hospital sheet that had almost fallen and covered the patient again, making sure that she did not wake either of them up, and stepped back for a moment to admire the two.

As she turned to leave, she closed her eyes and wished for only the best to come to the two of them. But little did she know...


	50. Doctor's Orders

**Author's Note:**

Hey so I'm writing this from my phone at 12:23 am

its been like a month since i updated i know I'm sorry but i was doing research from previous chapters about how to keep writing the fic ;)

So i just read Trials of Apollo and hopefully Nico and Will are a bit more in character now :DDD

Happy (late night) reading!

-Aleavon

* * *

Nico and Will woke up a few hours later, Will lending Nico the crook of his elbow as support as the pair stumbled out of the empty hospital room. A golden light spilled through the many hospital windows, creating pockets of radiance between their feet. The sound of the pair's footstepsechoed through the illuminated hallway, making the setting very tranquil save for the constant rhythm of their shoes brushing against the linoleum floor.

"I'm just glad nothing really bad happened to you, Nico." Will said forlornly, looking to the side at his raven-haired companion. He saw a stray lock of hair brush against the bridge of Nico's nose, and impulsively tucked it behind the other's ear.

Nico looked up, surprised, and smiled as he locked gazes with those beautiful, cerulean blue irises. Those pools of blue swallowed up any thoughts that Nico had been mulling over and Nico drew closer, putting his hands on Will's chest. A moment of silence passed as they stopped.

"Thank you..." Nico murmured. "Thank you for everything."

The words were simple, but underneath those mundane words laid a much deeper feeling of gratefulness, of respect and admiration, of love. Everything that wasn't said out loud was passed through the wordless connection they shared just through their intangible thoughts, the air almost being sucked straight out of their chests.

Will smiled and entwined his fingers with Nico's as he leaned down to peck Nico on the nose. The oh-so-familiar blush once again spread across Nico's cheekbones, making him feel and seem more alive and vivid once more in contrast with the drab monotone that he felt like he was living in before.

Suddenly, Nico felt a slight urge to burst down the hallway as he saw Reyna and Hazel sitting in two chairs, a quiet and determined hope flaring in their posture. The amount of tension and acknowledgement between the two was enough to strangle even the strongest man, and knowing it was all about him, Nico cringed on the inside as he realized what he had done to the people who really cared about him.

"Listen, I-" Nico started, trying to explain to Hazel what had happened, but Reyna shushed him and abruptly stood up, wrapping Nico in her arms. Her spicy, exotic scent washed over his subconsciousness, and he relaxed in her sisterly embrace as Hazel too joined the group.

"We're just glad you're okay, Nico." Hazel said, her voice muffled by Reyna's jacket. Nico felt her grip on him tighten and smiled sadly at the amount of pain he knew he had caused his beloved cousin.

"Don't ever scare us like that again!" Reyna asserted, squeezing Nico even tighter. Nico's brows furrowed, acknowledging everything that he had put everyone through, and then suddenly thought of something-someone important and pulled away.

"Hazel," Nico said, a worried tone clearly present in his usually stoic voice. "Does... does Dad know?"

Hazel gulped and nodded. "I called him immediately after you passed out and he was in the middle of a meeting. He's on his way to take you back home."

She reached out gently to cup his cheek as Bianca had always done and another repressed swell of emotion once again tore through him, forcing up a lump in his throat. As his vision grew watery, he reached up with one hand and placed it over Hazel's warm chocolate one on his cheek, bringing back memories of his time with his beloved sister.

Bianca would never have wanted Nico to suffer like this. At even the slightest trace of a tear in Nico's eye, Bianca would have immediately grabbed the younger boy into her embrace and jokingly squeeze until his tears were squeezed back behind his eyelids. That comfort he had gotten was long gone, and the way he treated everyone else when he lost her was so unlike Bianca had taught him to... It was shameful.

"Nico, honey, what's wrong?" Hazel said, wiping a stray tear from Nico's pale cheek.

Nico chokingly replied, "I just... don't get why... I don't know why... I can't... I just don't deserve you guys..."

Reyna softly said, "Everyone deserves to be loved and to love, Nico. And we're here to love you for who you are, no matter what you do."

Will stuck his head into the group of three, beaming as usual.

"And don't forget me! I promised I would stick by your side and I don't plan on leaving!"

Reyna and Hazel stared at him coldly, and Will's grin slowly faded as he awkwardly realized that he had completely obliterated the atmosphere of the moment.

"Heh, sorry guys." Will muttered awkwardly, scratching his head. "Got a little carried away there."

At that moment, Nico's phone buzzed in Will's hand. Will jumped slightly and then read the message from Nico's dad.

"Your dad'll be here in a couple of minutes, so he's just giving you a heads up." Will summarized the text and held it out towards Nico.

Nico grumbled somewhat unhappily, saying, "I can read my texts on my own, Will."

Hazel piped up with a concerned look on her face. "Your dad had better not be driving and-"

The phone buzzed again with another text.

Oh, and tell Hazel that I'm not texting and driving. We have Charles-Albert for a reason...

Reyna laughed. "How did he guess?" she quipped sarcastically.

"Hm... let me think," Nico replied in a similar manner. "It's not like she mother hens everybody she talks to..."

"Hey, I'm just looking out for you guys!" Hazel exclaimed, defending her actions.

Everyone laughed, their joyful sounds filling up the crowded waiting room.

In the following silence, Will looked lovingly into Nico's eyes, holding onto both of his hands tightly. Nico's eyelashes quivered with an anticipation that demanded to be settled and that demand pushed him to lean forwards a touch.

Time seemed to slow down as the two brought their faces closer together, and as they stretched to encapture the other's lips...

"REYNA! GUESS WH-OOAahh! HOLY SH-" A massive, moving figure crashed right in between the two of them, arms flailing wildly. As he came to his senses, Nico widened his eyes in shock as he realized that his lips were not connected to Will's in any way, but quite shockingly and irretrievably embarrassingly, attached to to the side of one very flustered Peter Sane.

"Fuck!" Will and Nico exclaimed simultaneously and recoiled in shock, Will immediately wiping his mouth, not just because he cursed, and Nico mirroring his movements. Peter stood paralyzed for a moment, and then burst out laughing, wiping the saliva from his cheeks.

"Jeez, boys!" Peter playfully said, gently pushing the two apart. "I know I'm irresistible but come on, contain yourselves!"

Suddenly, a strong hand clamped down on Peter's shoulder and pulled him back a good two feet into Reyna's glaring gaze.

"What are you doing?" Reyna demanded. "This guy just got off of his IV drip and is still in recovery!"

"Doctor's orders," Will quipped, trying to butt into the conversation but was quickly silenced by a look from Nico.

"Um... I didn't mean to- Uh..." Peter stammered, completely unprepared for what happened next.

Reyna grabbed Peter by the front of his shirt and pulled him into her embrace, the two locking lips for a full thirty seconds before Reyna let go.

"And I'm the only one who's allowed to kiss you. Got that?"

Peter, dazed, slowly nodded yes, and Reyna pulled him into another kiss, after which Will and Nico decided to follow suit. Hazel awkwardly adverted her eyes from the makeout session in front of her. But before long, a familiar baritone voice rang through the space.

"Come on, kids, stop it with the PDA. Let's get little Angelo back home and rested."

Hades burst into the waiting room, startling the other people and causing the two couples to break apart.

Nico looked at his dad pleadingly and asked, "Can Will come home with us for a bit? I'd feel much better if he did."

Hades chuckled. "Well, if it's okay with the person checking up with him..."

Will immediately put on his most serious face and proclaimed, "As Nico Di Angelo's temporary caretaker, I suggest that the caretaker remain with the patient at all times to... uh... make sure that he's not dead."

"Wow... makes me feel SO much safer..." Nico dryly said, but nonetheless rolling his eyes and taking Will's hand into his.

"They're just..." Will started.

"Doctor's orders." Everyone else finished, bursting into small fits of laughter.


	51. Night Owl

**Author's Note: **

Hi everyone - so finals happened and I got a dog with slight separation anxiety and also applied for like 5 million volunteer opportunities

But that's no reason for me not being able to at least write a meager 1k words a week for like two months - and I beg your sincerest apologies as I know what it's like to be put on hold like that.

Please enjoy this small update and hopefully there's more coming soon :)

\- Aleavon

* * *

The car ride home was nothing but silent as the three males drove home, the green digital clock on the dashboard constantly blinking, the minutes changing during the midnight hour. Hades' car smelled lightly of new leather and a tinge of brimstone, fitting in with the burnt sienna seats and the plastic interior of the car.

Nico leaned his head back as his dad started ranting on about how Nico should call him even if he wasn't home. Will, who was sitting in the middle seat, protectively grabbed Nico's hand, interlacing their fingers and giving him a tight squeeze as he prepared for the onslaught of his father's loving but tumultuous tirade.

"... But above all, remember that we love you and care about you, and nothing is going to change that." Hades finished, huffing frustratedly the exact same way Nico did at times, Will noticed. A lot of habits that Nico had were picked up from Nico's dad. His death glare, his breathing pattern, the way he rolled his eyes... Not that Will would ever be into Hades, that is. That would just be... weird.

"I know, Dad. I've already heard this from about twenty different people today. I'm fine now, really." Nico replied, mirroring the huff that his dad had similarly done earlier. Will smiled, running his fingers through Nico's lightly tousled waves, relishing that Nico was still able to stay by his side.

A strong, protective feeling surged up in Will's chest, his emotions for Nico fueling them like gasoline on fire. He impulsively threw his arms around the raven-haired boy, nestling his nose into the curve of Nico's soft, warm neck. Nico startled, and then relaxed, leaning his head on top of Will's.

"I love you, Sunshine," Will said quietly, light breaths gracing Nico's bare collarbone. Nico tensed, and then replied in a much softer voice, "I love you too."

* * *

The door slowly thudded shut as Hades was the last one to step through the heavy, blood-red door. Will slowly ushered Nico up to his room as Hades locked the door, the latch sliding into place with a quiet "clack".

Will escorted Nico upstairs, grabbing the rail with one hand while supporting Nico with the other, the black haired Italian slightly swaying in fatigue from the late hours of the night. Will blinked blearily, sighing with the comfort of the knowledge that his beloved was safe and sound in his arms, and grew more aware of his other with every step taken in unison as they slowly ascended.

Nico, on the other hand, was not as mentally or physically conscious as his early-bird counterpart, slumping around on the staircase and unable to control his feet. Will chuckled at the sleepy movements made by Nico, and truly thought they mimicked his own late at night.

"Hey Nico, I thought you were a night owl. How come you're so tired now?" Will quipped, trying to coax Nico into a state of semi-awakeness.

"It's past midnight, dumbass. Technically, it's Sunday morning." Nico replied just as snappily as he usually did, but with a hint of tired annoyance implied behind his words as his narrow, tired eyes locked onto Will's playful ones.

Will shook his head, grinning and breaking the eye contact. "Okay, you got me there, Mister Wise Guy. Let's get you back into bed. Your bed, I mean. If you fell down the stairs and ended up back in another hospital bed... Well, let's not think about that right now."

Nico was slowly led to his black and red room and as soon as he stepped past the threshold of the doorway that separated his dark domain from the rest of the house, Nico found himself suddenly falling backwards. _Well, back to the hospital I go-_ He thought, before he met the downwards collision he had expected.

That collision was much less painful and more... warm than what Nico had anticipated. He tried to wiggle around, but was trapped in a tight hold by two strong arms. In a split second, he had suddenly been lifted up into the air, and was just slightly below eye level with Will, who had caught him as he was falling.

"That was a close one, huh," Will said to Nico, looking him pointedly in the eyes. "I don't trust you to walk on your own two feet right now. Let's just get you in bed."

Nico couldn't say anything to disagree. As Nico was gently laid down on the covers, he slipped out of Will's hold and rolled over, pulling the covers with and around him. He heard Will chuckle behind him, and the creak and dip of the bed as Will sat down next to him, leaning his head against the headrest.

Will looked down to Nico's already half-asleep form, and saw his head poking out of a small gap in the sheets. He absentmindedly reached out his hand to run his fingers through his boyfriend's ebony hair, but then stopped himself, reminding himself that it was Nico's time to recover.

At that moment, Nico rolled back over, eyes closed, quietly patted around Will's lap, and when he found Will's right hand, grabbed it firmly and rolled back over, pulling Will over him and forcing a surprised squeak out of Will before pulling the covers back over himself.

Nico turned over, half-opened his eyes, and said, "C'mon, Sunshine. Just sleep."

Will smiled and tossed his arm over Nico, holding him in a tight embrace. The boys' shared warmth seeped into Will's skin, wrapping him up as if he were under the covers as well, and in that settling embrace, the tendrils of that unwanted sleep once again crept upon the two.


	52. Supposed to be Easy

**Author's Note:**

Hi.

Here's your update posted at 2:19 am.

Don't kill me :)

\- Aleavon

* * *

It was, as Nico so nicely put it, the "butt crack of dawn" when Will opened his eyes after that long and terrifying night. He almost lost the one dearest to him, but in turn, he caught a glimpse of the pain constantly tormenting Nico in the back of his mind. The reality that Nico could actually be lost to him finally sunk into Will's mind, and he reached over to gently caress Nico's angelic, sleeping visage to remind him that Nico was still by his side.

A golden gleam shimmered through the half-open window, softly lighting the angles and curves of Nico's highly contrasting face, his pale skin bringing out the dark swishes that were Nico's eyes and eyebrows, and lightly marking the baby pink blossom of Nico's permanently frowning lips. Although, in sleep, his face became less full of loss and worry, and more full of the childish life that so belonged with his appearance and personality – With Will and friends, that is.

The two were still in their clothing from last night; Nico still in a messy Panic at the Disco t-shirt despite the fact that it was winter, _I can wear a fucking t-shirt in the middle of winter, Will. I won't get sick – You're going to be a doctor, you already know that. Stop worrying about me, I'll be fine… _ and his typical black skinny jeans.

"Zeus, is there anything other than band shirts, jeans, and aviator jackets in this guy's wardrobe? This is kind of ridiculous…" Will murmured to himself.

To be honest though, he wasn't one to be talking. After Nico took him to buy some hoodies, Will became fascinated with loose-fitting clothing, and had a total of four different types of clothing in his closet: Hoodies, sweatpants, khakis, and t-shirts. The last article was only found in shades of orange or yellow.

Will glanced sideways at the clock on Nico's nightstand. The blinking red numbers blinked 3:00, making Will's sleep-saturated mind pause for a second, and then conclude that it was not, in fact, 3:00 in the morning, as the sun was out, and instead that the power had probably gone out during the night.

Will looked down towards his wrist for his watch, and groaned as he realized he had left it at Piper's house. When Nico had collapsed, he had taken it off in a hurry so that when he picked Nico up, he wouldn't leave a mark in Nico's back.

"Dammit…" Will cursed himself for not bringing his watch along at the last second. "Now I have to go downstairs…"

He remembered that there was a battery-operated clock in the kitchen, but didn't want to wake Nico up. Will slowly, slowly got up, so as to not make any creaks, and with every passing moment, his heart beat faster, until he was almost completely off the bed. So far, there had been no creaks, and Will sighed in relief, slipping off the edge of the bed, when the bed suddenly decided to let out the squeakiest groan Will had ever heard a bed emit.

Will looked fearfully towards Nico, hoping that the other was not disturbed in the slightest by his slight disturbance. Nico made not a single movement. _He sleeps like a log…_ Will thought, tiptoeing out of the room and down the stairs. Hades had not come downstairs either, his morning habits strongly mirroring those of his son's… or maybe the other way around. He tried not to take as heavy footsteps as he usually did, but he couldn't really have avoided the couch in the middle of the room… or the shoe rack… or the shut kitchen door.

Rubbing his head after the third collision, Will opened their refrigerator, determined to make Nico and perhaps his father something for breakfast. To Will's surprise, there was nothing at all in the cupboards. He checked in the closet and even underneath the sink, but to no avail.

Will was about to start looking in the dishwasher when his concentration was broken by something behind him.

"Oh, yeah, we don't really go shopping for food," A deep voice behind him said. Will whirled around to see Hades, sitting in a kitchen chair in a bathrobe sipping a cup of cold coffee.

"But, we do have a few cans when we can't go out shopping. Speaking of which, I'd take you to grab a couple things, but… we can't go out shopping." Hades jerked his thumb towards the window, which showed a completely blank white landscape, causing Will to groan.

"It snowed… again?" Will said, defeated.

Hades nodded, taking another sip. "Yup. All the power went out too. I dunno how the heater turned back on, but that's probably why you're actually up and not crying rolled up in your blankets…"

"… Like I was this morning." Hades finished, shivering slightly. He looked up at Will, who was still standing there, looking at Hades awkwardly.

"Oh, yeah! The cans." Hades remembered, then walked into the adjoining room and opened up a closet door. "Come in here. You can probably do something with these."

Will shuffled into the other room with hope in his eyes, expecting a grand array of all sorts of beans, pickled and canned vegetables and soups, and little sausages. When he walked into the closet, the lineup of what appeared to be over 100 cans took Will by surprise.

They were all cans of chicken soup.

"…Why are they all… " Will dejectedly said, blinking a couple times to make sure that he wasn't going crazy.

"Chicken soup?" Hades finished. "Well, when we can't eat out, that usually means we're sick. When we're sick, we drink chicken soup until we're better, and then we start eating out again."

Will's inner pediatrician started banging his head on his inner pediatrician desk.

"You'll never get enough nutrients for—" Will cut himself off as he realized that he would have to work with what he got. Complaining about it wasn't going to do anything about his situation. "Okay, I guess I'll heat up a couple cans for us…"

After a few minutes of hunting for pans and cooking utensils, Will finally managed to set up decent cooking arrangements for the three of them. He stirred the contents of a couple cans of chicken soup in a small pot while sitting on a barstool that was stored sideways underneath the counter. A quiet atmosphere had settled in the almost-empty room, giving Will a sort of peace of mind as he idly kept the soup from burning.

"Mmm…" Will almost jumped as a sleepy voice said behind him, two half-limp arms were lightly wrapped around his core. "What's cooking?... Literally."

Will turned around to see Nico's adorably half-lidded face staring up at him, looking as if the very aroma of the food in the pot was putting him into a food-induced coma.

"Well, I'd be cooking something else for you, but the only thing you have in the remaining 96 cans in your storage area is chicken soup, so… chicken soup." Will replied, not meaning to be sarcastic, but the wording slipping out anyways.

Nico, of all things, giggled and rubbed his face against Will's back. "You're funny, Will. And I'm tired." He sighed drowsily and once again resumed his slow breathing pattern.

"Hi Tired, I'm Dad." Hades replied from halfway across the room, jolting Nico awake. "Your friend Funny decided to make breakfast for us."

"Mkay…" Nico said, releasing Will and slowly walking to sit next to his dad in a dining chair as Will rolled his eyes at Hades' joke. He slowly ladled out three bowls of soup, emptying the pot, and brought them over one at a time, first to Hades, and then to Nico.

When Will walked over to Nico, he turned to Will, smiling with the cutest expression on his face.

"Thanks Funny." Nico said, reaching for the bowl, but completely missing it with his lack of morning coordination and caused Will to spill the soup all over the tiled floor.

"Eep!" Will said, jumping back from the slowly spreading liquid.

"Sorry…" Nico said, and consequently, got up to get a mop.

"No, no, it's fine. I should have been more careful." Will replied, gently pushing Nico back into his seat and grabbing the mop to clean up the mess. "You can have my soup, I'll make another."

Nico stopped him and stepped towards the storage, giving Will a hard glance that made Will, against his will, step back and watch Nico attempt to open the can.

Will reached out after him, crying out, "That's not how you're supposed to use a can opener!" He dashed up, gently snatching the tool from Nico's hands and used it to skillfully pry open the lid.

"This way, you won't have to risk cutting yourself. Carry on." Will, satisfied, took a seat and watched Nico attempt to figure out how the stove worked.

"This is supposed to be easy, Will. You don't have to help me. I am perfectly capable of heating up my own breakfast." Nico sighed, helplessly twiddling with the switches on the front of the stove.

"Nico, those change the oven temperature!" Hades called out, Nico snorting with a frustrated air in response.

"Okay, it's heating up," Nico said, after finding the right knob. "See? I did it."

Nico turned smugly watched the two of them as he gloated over his accomplishment. However, that satisfaction was not long-lived. A moment later, Hades let out a ground-shaking sneeze, startling all three of them.

"Guys… do I smell brimstone or is something burning?" Hades asked, eyeing Nico's pot of soup.

Nico and Will immediately dashed over, and sure enough, the pot was smoking. Most of the water had boiled away, leaving a semi-congealed mess at the bottom with black chunks of burned solid food.

"Dammit Nico… making chicken soup from a can was 'supposed to be easy'…" Will said, as he picked up the pot, cleared away the smoke and turned on the ventilator.

"Yeah, well, I don't cook, so…" Nico replied, a tinge of regret in his mocking tone.

"Then what do you do when your dad gets sick?" Will asked, astonished.

"He gets up to make it himself…" Nico nonchalantly replied, as if that was what was expected of him.

Will sighed. "We need to teach you how to cook once the snow gets shoveled."


	53. A Much Needed Visit

**Author's Note:**

Well... this chapter just barely hit 2k words ^_^

Be proud of me :D

~I got my laptop confiscated for a day so I couldn't post sorry :(

\- Aleavon

* * *

In a few hours, the plows had cleared out the snow, and after Will re-made the utterly destroyed chicken soup with Nico, the former decided it was about time for Nico to be able to head outside again. Will pulled on the grey cotton hoodie that he had taken off momentarily while cooking, slipped on his shoes, and proceeded to drag Nico out the blood-red door.

"C'mon, Nico…" Will whined, tugging on Nico's arm with both hands like a child begging his mom for a candy bar. "We haven't gone out anywhere in forever…"

"I thought I was supposed to rest?" Nico said sarcastically, stopping in his tracks and plopping down on the wooden floor. "I'll just rest… here." Nico felt like his active self had crawled into a shell and died, leaving him with the determination of a literal small couch potato.

"You can rest later." Will bantered lightly, poking Nico in the ribs, causing the other to flinch slightly. "Plus, weren't you just running up and down the stairs a few minutes ago?"

Nico grumbled unhappily. "I had to go get my phone, and then it died, so then I had to get the charger. Two trips, Solace. That's not 'running up and down the stairs'…"

Will sighed, accepting his defeat. "Okay, you win. You should probably still get some rest." He let out a prolonged sigh and proceeded to sniffle. "But all I wanted was to take you out for lunch again, like back in the beginning of our story."

Nico looked up, confused. "Wait… _our_ story?" The very notion of there being something they had together went straight to Nico's heart, the constant rhythm intensifying at the word.

Will smiled at him. "The story that we're writing with every step we take. Why don't we add some good food to it?"

The blonde winked at Nico, and shot him a playful grin. "After all, I do know some good restaurants."

This time, it was Nico's turn to groan with an added face palm to top everything off.

"I swear, if you take me to Chuck E. Cheese's again, I'm going to cry."

* * *

The couple hopped onto the bus route to Will's dad's house, where he hadn't been since his mother had his accident there, the house was in a state of disaster. There were beer bottles strewn over the couch and floor, clothes thrown everywhere, and Phoebus was nowhere to be seen.

"Will…" Nico started, but was unable to continue. How could he have been so selfish, vying for Will's attention while Will's life had been completely turned upside down? His words caught in his throat as he recalled how he had felt when he lost his mother.

Will sighed, stopping halfway down the hallway to turn back to face Nico. "Yeah, I know it's a mess. My dad completely freaked out when he got the call from the hospital."

"No, it's not the mess…" Nico stepped forwards and with shaking hands, wrapped his arms around Will, causing him to startle and then relax into his boyfriend's embrace.

"Nico…?" Will said, brow creasing as he wondered what got into Nico.

Nico buried his face into Will's back, and quietly mumbled, "I'm so sorry, Will…"

Will turned around and looked curiously at Nico, immediately registering the regret in the other's eyes. "For what? You didn't do anything to make this happen."

Nico took a shaky breath, and continued, "I was such a brat during that entire first week after her accident. You were going through so much, and I know exactly how you feel."

Will shook his head, laying a hand on Nico's shoulder. "It's not your fault, you just didn't know what was going on then, and that's my fault for not telling you.

"Stop blaming yourself for this." Nico insisted furiously. "None of it is your fault. It's not your fault that she got in an accident, it's not your fault that I was a jerk, and it's not your fault in any way."

"I-I just can't help but feel like it's somehow my fault." Will replied, voice shaking. "I should've stopped her from going out that day. I could've called her more to tell her I love her. I…"

Will stopped suddenly, and Nico looked up curiously. He was about to ask why Will had stopped, but took a closer look and finally knew why. A stream of tears had started to trickle down the grieving blonde's cheeks, driven by his unconditional love for his mother. For the first time since they had been together, Nico had finally seen Will cry.

And he finally understood the pain of seeing a loved one cry. Nico stepped forwards, not unlike how Will had when Nico had opened up to him about his mother, and wrapped him in the tightest, safest hug he could offer and wanted to never let go.

* * *

"How about let's not go out to eat today," Nico softly said, still holding Will. "I think we have something more important to do."

Once again, the two had returned to the confining white hallways they had left yesterday to search for a different room than the one they had been in the day before.

"Excuse me, could I get the directions to the room of Mrs. Daphne Solace?" Nico said to a pink-haired lady sitting behind the reception window, Will standing silently behind Nico and watching the conversation.

"I'm sorry, sir," she replied in an empathetic tone. "Today's non-relative visiting hours don't start until 11 am, and we still have an hour before then. Please take a seat in our waiting area."

"I'm with her son, and he really wants to see her right now. Could we please be let in? We shouldn't be any trouble at all." Nico insisted fervently, grabbing onto Will's limp arm.

The lady pursued her lips, and frowned. "Do you have another guardian who can accompany you to the room?"

Will spoke up as Nico hesitated, not knowing if his father was going to be able to bring them in. "My dad works here as a doctor. You can call him up and he can come with us to visit my mom."

Will was asked the extension number of his father's office, and a few moments, they were walking down the hallway to meet up with Apollo.

"I didn't know your dad was a doctor…" Nico said, trying to promote some conversation.

"He's pretty well rounded." Will replied, completely shutting Nico down. Apollo waved to them from down the hallway, now dressed in a white doctor's jacket and turned to lead them to Will's mom's room.

"Hey, kiddos," Apollo half-heartedly greeted Nico and Will as they caught up with him. "I hope you can share something nice with Will's mother, it's been a while since I've been able to hop down there during my free time… well, because I don't have much free time anymore. I took up another shift because one of the doctors just recently left the hospital.

"We'll do our best," Nico replied as they arrived at the room. Will took a deep breath, the pain of almost completely losing his mother returning anew, and as he tried to restrain his pain, Nico slowly opened the bedroom door.

* * *

A lump formed in Will's throat as he stepped towards the unconscious form of his mother.

"Hey, Mom," he started in a quiet whisper, reaching out to smooth back those golden locks that were almost identical to his. "I know I never got around to introducing you two in person, or really, while you were awake, but this is my boyfriend, Nico."

Will continued, his voice gradually intensifying as more and more emotion creeped into his voice. "You can't see him right now, but I'll describe him to you. He's about a head shorter than me, with gorgeous black curly hair you'd want to stroke all day."

At those words, he reached over and ran his fingers through Nico's curls, tugging on one particularly springy one and watching it bounce back up into place. Nico chuckled softly, enjoying the soothing feeling of his boyfriend's warm fingers brush through his ebony locks.

Will smiled at Nico, and turned back to his mom to carry on with his glorified praising of Nico. "He's got the most wonderful, soft brown eyes, the color of dark chocolate, with those gorgeous long lashes that you always loved so much. I bet that if you took just one look into his eyes and you'd immediately love him as a second son."

Nico flushed bright red, covering his face and making small swatting motions at Will. "Stop it, you're over-exaggerating. I don't look like that."

Shaking his head with a gleeful smile, Will spoke again, not to his mother, but instead, to the blushing Italian sitting next to him.

"It's not just his looks that I love about him. He's got one heck of a personality. I bet most people wouldn't even consider that underneath his hard, silent shell, there's a myriad of traits just waiting to be opened up to the world."

If it was possible, Nico turned an even darker shade of red, the blush slowly spreading down his neck.

"Some days I catch him in a sassy, sarcastic mood, and it takes all of the willpower I have to keep from literally dying of laughter. Other times, he'll be thoughtful, like that time he brought me out to eat at that fancy Italian restaurant. And best of all, on rare occasions, he'll be really flustered and cute… like this morning."

Nico's eyes widened as he realized what Will was about to tell his mom. He frantically shook his head, _No, no, Will, don't do it,_ but it was too subtle for the happily monologuing blonde.

"So, I'm sleeping over at Nico's house, and I decide to get up and make breakfast for everyone. But when I look around in the kitchen, there's nothing in the cupboards or the fridge. Then, Nico's dad comes around, and shows me this huuuge stockpile of cans that they keep for when they can't go out… but they're all cans of chicken soup!"

Will laughed, the memory fondly returning to him. "I went ahead and heated up some soup for everyone, and then the funniest thing happens. Nico is not a morning person. But today, he got up and stumbled all the way downstairs to find me in the kitchen. He could barely think straight… He was… adorable!"

Nico glared at Will, returning the other's common gesture of poking Nico in the ribs. Outraged, Nico said, "I am not… adorable!"

A grinning Will retorted, "Yes you are adorable… _amore mio sei adorabile_."

Nico paused for a moment, realizing what Will had just said. "Wait. You just… spoke in Italian." His brows furrowed as the meaning of the phrase sunk in. "Did you just…? You just called me adorable in both languages I speak."

Nico drew in a sharp huff of air as Will doubled over laughing, his eyes squeezed shut in enjoyment, Will's clear laughter filling the quiet room with a joyous sound.

After a few awkward moments of Will laughing alone, he caught his breath, sighing, "You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that. And your reaction… was worth every minute of planning."

A few moments of silence passed, and Will kneeled down to rest next to his mother's side. He cupped her cheek in his hand, and whispered, "I wish you were here to see how happy he makes me. I really do. I'm completely sure you would love him too. Please, come back to us soon."

Will stood up slowly, not taking his eyes off of her, and with a single tear trickling down the side of his cheek, murmured, "I love you, Mom."

Nico stepped forwards, gently taking Will's hand, and squeezed it gently, letting him know that at that moment, everything was going to be alright.


	54. Spreading Kindness

**Author's Note:**

Yeah... so I updated again. Wow, it's been like 8 days!

That was kind of fast for me as you all know! XD

Anyways, these next few chapter are probably going to be kind of sad/twisty as a heads-up but I'll try to stick in some rays of SUNSHINE to make it alright!

Haha see what I did there I made a pun lol

Okay, please remember to leave a review as to what you think! I do my best to respond to every one that I see, so if you have ideas or feedback just hop on over to the review box at the bottom and share your thoughts!

(plus it makes me motivated and write faster hehe)

Until next time,

\- Aleavon

* * *

Nico dropped Will off at his mom's house, where he was taking care of his sisters under the occasional guidance of his busy dad, kissing him goodbye, and then returned to his house via bus.

It was barely noon, and they didn't get to go out to lunch, but a nice day out could wait until things returned to normal. For now, it was probably best for them to just trudge their way through their situation before taking time for themselves.

Nico arrived back at his house, chunks of compressed ice and snow firmly stuck in the cracks of his boot soles. After knocking them against the rails on the front porch to no avail, he sighed, defeated, and stepped inside to let them melt in the mud room. He sighed as he slowly unlaced the laces strapping the boots to his frozen feet, and dropped them unceremoniously on the floor.

The stairs creaked as Nico slowly stepped back upstairs to the warm comfort of his room when his dad poked his head out of his bedroom again.

"Hey Nico, how was lunch?" Hades asked as he stood in the middle of the doorway, now sipping what could have been his 5th cup of coffee in his easily maintained sluggish manner.

Nico shrugged, expressing slight disappointment in the change of plans. "We ended not going to eat out. I decided it would be better if we went to visit Will's mom at the hospital."

Hades was jerked out of his somber state, eyes flying wide open. "Wait, what? When did this happen?"

Nico's brows furrowed. "We never told you? It happened maybe a week ago. She got in a car accident and now she's been in a coma since then. It's just… not fair."

Hades stood, shell-shocked. "A-a week ago?"

Nico nodded. "Yeah, our semester ended on the 14th, and Will told me yesterday that it happened Sunday night, so it has been exactly one week now."

Hades took a deep breath, looking into his coffee cup. "Nico, how would you react if I told you I got in a car accident the same day that Will's mom went to the hospital… And that it may not be coincidental?"

This time, it was Nico's turn to be shocked as he realized what could have happened.

"You… hit Will's mom?" Nico said quietly, pieces lining up in his head. Now, as he looked back, he remembered that he had to take the bus to school that day – His dad was late getting to the bank that day for work, and therefore was in a rush… And the sudden decision to buy a new car…

"I was late getting to work that morning, and I was in a big rush… And at the intersection, the light was turning to red, and I knew I wouldn't be able to make it but I still tried, and…"

Hades took a deep breath, eyes fluttering shut as he relived the memory once again.

"I was so intent on getting past that light that I didn't see the Camry in front of me, turning into the right lane, and… I hit her from the side. The car… I was pushed back into my seat and spun a full 180 degrees after I tried to swerve… and… when I looked back… I saw the passenger's side of her car just buckled in…"

Hades looked at his son, regret flooding his eyes, and then re-adverted them, watching steam rise up from his cup.

"We were both rushed to the hospital, and somehow nothing had happened to me. But the woman… She laid there on the bed, blonde hair spilling around her like a halo, looking so fragile… like your mother did when she slept. I just… I just couldn't believe that I… I almost killed her."

His eyes filled with those rare crystalline drops, spilling over his unshaved cheeks as all of his loss was reinstated upon him. His wife, his daughter, and now possibly the mother of his son's beloved boyfriend.

Nico's pent-up anger dissipated, those fiery flames quenched by the emotionally rushing state his father was in. In an almost rare moment of weakness, Hades, eyes red and glassy with tears, put down his cup and collapsed down onto his knees. A sob broke out of his already tired windpipe, and soon diminished into a whimper.

To see one of the few people he really cared about in such an emotional crisis almost caused Nico to follow suit, the urge to curl up in a ball and scream out at the world, asking for a reason for all the injustices in life.

But instead, Nico knelt down next to his father, and gently wiped off his father's tears, soaking his sleeve. That didn't matter. Any amount of drenched clothes could have piled up on him and he wouldn't care.

All Nico needed was for his presence to be known, for his father to realize there was someone who understood, and for himself to realize that everyone else around him also felt the cruel lashes of fate upon their backs.

"You know what, Dad?" Nico whispered gently, brushing back the older man's hair the same way Nico's mother did when she was around. "No matter what happens, you've got to remember that you have to just keep on going. As a special someone once said, 'Everything will be alright. And if you really feel alone, well… I'll always be here for you.' All you have to do is tell me."

Will's words that day so long ago at the restaurant once again echoed in Nico's head as he passed on the other's words on to someone else in need. The unity and the strength he felt they shared seemed to bind the two together as Nico reached out with open arms to reverse the hierarchy that they once had, the younger holding and comforting the older instead.

Nico thought back to the days when he was a few years younger, a few experiences naiver, and realized just how much his circumstances had shifted around. A calm settled over him as he acknowledged the driving force behind every step forwards he took.

_Bianca, _Nico thought. _Things have really changed since you and Mama left, sorella*. But I'll always remember what you taught me, and I'll do my best to pass on your kindness to everyone around me. _

_That's what I feel like I stay here to do._

* * *

*sorella – sister


	55. Confession Time pt 2

**Author's Note:**

Hey, everyone!

First off, a BIG thank you to everyone who has stuck with me through this fic - I really appreciate all of you who come and read this story (which is like my largest accomplishment ever so yay!)

Here's a kind-of update and hope you enjoy!

\- Aleavon

P.S. Chloe are you happy now? C:

* * *

Nico heaved a heavy sigh as he approached the unfamiliar, gleaming white house, a cloud of exhaust fumes clustering then dissipating around him. Slow, shuffling steps brought his hunched form closer, inch by inch, as the heavy-set knowledge newly gleaned from his father weighed him down more and more. His defeated soul felt as if it was dragging behind him, cold and frozen like the frosted grass and dewdrops.

Three long, painful steps were taken upwards towards the golden oak door, Nico's eyes taking in the fresh scenery around him. Despite the freezing temperatures of the mid-winter season, there were still miniature flowers blossoming on a few bare branches in the garden plots just at the foot of the stairs. Nico leaned forwards on the porch railing, pushing aside the abandoned rocking chair, and he peered down to take a closer look.

His untrained botanical analysis led him to conclude that the flower was, in fact, somehow surviving, no, thriving in the below-zero readings. Nico's dark hair swung in front of his eyes as he turned, facing the daunting task of once again seeing his beloved Will… but with much more on his shoulders than Will's generously given sweatshirt during last night's car ride home.

One deep inhale of the freezing morning air was taken in before Nico made up his mind to knock on the lime green door. Three knocks sounded through the house, and then the sound of scrambling paws on a wooden floor rushed to meet Nico as Phoebus dashed up to the door, nose pressed to the glass.

"Hey Phoebus," Nico murmured, pressing his finger to Phoebus's excited face against the glass. "Haven't seen you in a while, have I?" Phoebus's tongue lolled out, smearing saliva against the glass. In the next second, footsteps echoed through the two-story house and Phoebus barked, stepping back, as Will opened the door.

"Nico!" Will said, surprised, as he opened the door to let the other boy in. "What are you doing here? I thought you were at home, recovering?" Will peered closer into Nico's emotionless visage, and immediately noticed something was wrong. He let out a puff of air, bent down a bit so he was eye to eye with Nico, and absentmindedly tucked a stray strand of hair behind Nico's ears. Nico blushed at the gesture, placing his hand over Will's gently.

"Why don't you… come over here and we can talk about it…" Will suggested, leading Nico over to a couch, his arm tossed over Nico's shoulder. _Well, it's now or never,_ Nico thought, fingers starting to tremble as he anticipated the anger that Will would unleash upon him. With one shaking hand, Nico reached up and placed his hand at the nape of Will's neck, nestling his fingers through Will's golden curls.

Time stopped as he gently brought his lips to Will's, the two melding in a perfect movement. Nico drew in Will's very presence; the slight minty sweetness of his breath, the taut shoulder muscles flexing under Nico's touch, and the warmth swamping his disheveled form burned into his memory. The soft feel of Will's lips against his own brought a fuzzy delight to his chest, his heart beating faster as Will drew Nico closer with his arms, delicately encircling his skinny frame and pressing their bodies together. Nico needed Will. So much. He couldn't imagine being without Will anymore.

Nico lifted his head up from the kiss as he pressed Will into the couch. Will's disheveled form looked back up at him, surprise and want in his eyes. Will smirked and then sat up, pushing Nico into a sitting position. Nico looked at Will wide-eyed, wondering why he stopped him.

"Okay, small one," Will said, chuckling. "If you have something to say, go ahead and say it." Nico blinked in surprise, not realizing that his motive was so obvious already. He sighed and took his hands off of Will's neck, almost whimpering from the loss of contact.

"So… I have bad news." Nico started, nervously looking at his intertwined fingers.

Will rolled his eyes at the comment, but then put his arm around Nico, drawing him into a side hug. "Well, if it wasn't bad news, then you wouldn't be like this, now would you? Come on, just spit it out. It's not good to keep things bottled up."

Nico looked up at Will and then shifted his gaze away as he confessed what was on his mind. "Well… I was talking with my dad today, and… He- I found out- Your mom-" Nico stopped, his lips not coordinating with what he wanted to say.

"My dad was the one who hit your mom's car that day."

* * *

Nico told Will the whole story about the crash, how his dad had been in a rush, running the red light… and how much remorse he still felt. A shocked silence ensued, Will staring at Nico, mouth slightly open in disbelief. The notion that someone close to Will had caused his mom's accident… Well, it was inconceivable. Will had built up a persona for the speeding man who had caused him so much pain. He was a cruel thrill-seeker who had no morals, no consideration for the ones around him, and no regard for the law.

But to find that his boyfriend's father was the culprit… It tore Will to pieces just trying to think of how he could look at that kind-hearted man whose body took his mother away from him. Just yesterday he had come face to face with the man who had destroyed his old way of life… but he wasn't mad. Somehow, the anger and sadness had dissipated completely.

Maybe it was the knowledge that the accident was truly an accident – no ill-wishing person had randomly picked his mom as a victim. Maybe it was because the culprit could be forgiven. Maybe… because he believed that his mom would truly be okay.

Nico tightly kneaded the hem of his shirt, not sure if he should say anything in the moment when Will reached over, lightly gripped Nico's chin, and turned his face to him.

"Look, I know you think I'm going to be mad at you, or your dad. But I'm really not. It's weird… I know I should be more upset, and I feel like I should be more upset, but… It's surprisingly calming to find out who it was who hit my mom. It wasn't some random stranger… It's someone I can understand and forgive."

Nico's voice wavered, finally looking Will in the eye. The pain in his expression almost caused Will to cry out in compassion. "But he could have killed her, Will."

Will leaned forwards, caressing Nico's cheek. "Nico, I will never judge you by what other people have done. I will always see you as who you are and what you have done," and as he pressed his forehead to Nico's, he murmured, "and I hope you'll do the same for me."

Nico looked up at Will, appreciation and admiration shining through on his now light-hearted expression. "I… Of course I will!"

Nico finally smiled for the first time that day and enveloped Will into a tight hug.


	56. Surrounded and Alone

**Author's Note:**

It has been a month and five days since my last update and although I am in school and am busy I should really shoot for a goal of at least 50 words per day. I am disappointed in myself and am currently submerging myself in a vat of self-deprication.

But it's okay because you have an update C: please dont kill me this was not worth 5 weeks of anticipation but i will attempt to get a new chapter out in two weeks

spam me with PMs and messages so i stay true to my word lmao

\- Aleavon

P.S. Short statistics note: This fic is about 3,000 views away from 75,000 views, we just recently topped 300 reviews, and today is the 1 year 8 months anniversary! Just thought I'd throw that out there. You guys are an amazing viewer base and wonderful fans. The time you wait for each update and the amount of reviews you send in is mind-blowing. Keep up your effort and we will finish this story together! :D

* * *

Nico looked up into Will's eyes, appreciation shining through them as they walked down the sidewalk to the bus stop. When they left the house, Will had subconsciously reached for Nico's hand, and after an initial moment of surprise, Nico also gripped the other's hand firmly, their intertwined fingers crisscrossing as they swung their arms with each step they took. There was a calm silence as they strode forwards, slowly approaching the blue bus sign.

_I'd talk more, but it's time for me to go pick up my sisters from their art classes. Every Sunday they have a workshop, and sometimes I get to make something too! Do you… mind coming with me?_ Will's words replayed in Nico's head, a never ending loop of feigned cheerfulness echoing through Nico's mind. Yes, Will wasn't always faking his uplifting demeanor but this time, Nico could tell. Something in his eyes just wasn't… right.

"So, um…" Nico said quietly, as Will led him to sit at the shaded curbside bench next to the bus stop. He wanted to break the silent atmosphere that had formed between the two of them. Something about it had become ice-cold like the late-winter air around them.

As they sat down, still holding hands, Nico asked timidly, "Are you sure you don't want to talk to my dad right now? I mean, he wants to apologize and make up for what he did."

Will shrugged. "I think we both just need some time to wrap our heads around this thing. If I come face to face with him right now, I don't know what will happen."

Nico pursed his lips, and then suggested, "Maybe… I could take him to her room and he can talk to her for a bit? I mean, that wouldn't hurt, and he'd be able to get it off his chest. And later, you two can talk it out when you're ready."

"Sounds good," Will said half-heartedly, shifting his weight as he looked to the side. After a moment, he looked back at Nico, and quietly said, "Could we… not talk about this right now? I just… don't feel comfortable with it right now."

Nico's eyes widened, Will's perspective of the situation finally settling into place. He scooted back, trying to apologize for invading both Will's physical and mental space.

"I-I'm so sorry, I forgot that… I…" Nico stammered, trying to backpedal out of the situation. _Dammit Nico, not everyone grieves like you do. Not everyone's gone numb on the inside. _

Will shook his head, amused at Nico's reaction. "You're fine. It takes some time to readjust and understand stuff. I've been there before."

Another bout of silence formed between the two, words unable to penetrate the silent barrier formed within them.

Luckily for them, the bus pulled up at that exact moment, and yet another prolonged, wordless silence was fortunately avoided.

The two sat side by side on the colorful, fuzzy seats as they watched the stop indicator tick from stop to stop, the scenery rushing by just outside the window, as their minds ran with incomplete thoughts in turmoil. No conversation could be made with this uncomfortable, chilled atmosphere between them, their stoic and still bodies waiting for the other to make a move.

Nico's eyes swept through the area, studying each person's face for a few moments, then moving on. The strangeness of this situation had just sunk in. During all of the time they had been together, seldom had there been such a long gap between conversations. Then again, it always was Will who started conversations, and it had become almost inconceivable that Nico would attempt to communicate with someone else. So how ironic it was, that now, Nico was the one who wanted to talk to someone who didn't want to say a word?

How can you feel like you've lost someone, when you're sitting right next to them?

He thumbed through his mental folder of conversation topics, tossing out the cliché "How was your day?" and "So, weather's nice today, huh?" and skipping over the more obvious "Do you have a crush?" or "Do you have any siblings?". That had just about exhausted everything he had, save for one last conversation started.

"What do you do in your spare time? Like, as a hobby?" Nico quietly asked, keeping his head down and glancing up at Will from the corner of his eye.

Will seemed taken aback for a few moments. "Wh-what?" His eyebrows scrunched together as he delved deep into his thoughts, trying to retrieve the information that he sought. "I guess… I … don't really have any hobbies? When I'm not with you, Phoebus, or my sisters… I'm studying for school and researching colleges."

Nico gaped in astonishment. He could just see himself now, sitting at home playing video games and drawing, when Will was already looking into where he was going in the future. "Will, we're not even in junior year yet! How can you already be looking for colleges?"

Will scratched his head bashfully, realizing the eccentricity of his habits. "I guess it's a little… different from what most people would expect, but there's honestly just not much else I actually want to do."

Nico opened his mouth to suggest activities that they could do together, but at that very second, the bus came to a halt, and Will stood up, offering his hand to Nico to lead him off the bus. The latter gratefully took the helping hand, but he couldn't help but continue to feel cheated out of something that could have really brought them together.


	57. Paint Splatters

**Author's Note:** Let's skip the usual "im sorry i haven't updated in months" drill and get straight to the story, shall we?

Psst... reviews fuel my creative energy! :)

\- Aleavon

* * *

They walked out from the station into the art center and workshop, and entered quietly, matching the creative atmosphere of the artistic workspace. Will checked in with the administrative staff, confirming that his siblings had been in class and were currently waiting to be picked up, and stepped away from the desk to slowly approach the winding collection of passageways within the building.

Nico huffed a sigh as he watched Will walk away and drudgingly followed him. However, Will looked back at Nico curiously, smiled with a shadow of his previous self and held out his hand to Nico. Immediately, a tense, bottled up feeling within Nico's entire being was released, his fears gone, all because Will had offered to hold his hand. Nico tentatively threaded his fingers through Will's and was thus led through the creative labyrinth.

As they walked through the main display room, Nico found his eyes wandering from the walls, to the furniture, to the ceiling and the windows. He had no doubt expected there to be art displays from students as well as aspiring artists in the community. However, he had not expected the overwhelming deluge of art mediums that was plastered to almost everything. Just about every visible inch of the flat surfaces within the building was covered in various art mediums.

Many colorful, finger-painted animals had conquered the west side of the building, window paintings often depicting slightly demonic versions of popular Pokémon shone with colored light and speckling the already paint-dotted white linoleum floor with more color, giving the room a stained-glass feel, and small busts of people and animals guarded the tables and countertops within the lobby.

On the eastern wall, hundreds upon hundreds of paper drawings, sketches, and paintings alike were tacked up haphazardly, showcasing various personal masterpieces of the children who liked to create art within the creativity-filled building. Nico smiled dearly at a peculiarly detailed crayon sketch of a flying ship among the clouds, drifting along in the atmosphere while the bronze figurehead of a dragon led the way. He stepped closer, eyes taking in every square inch of the bumpy crayon marks, the effort that was put into the drawing, and finally looked down at the bottom corner, where a carelessly written name adorned the otherwise light blue sky.

As they walk through the hallway, the seemingly haphazardly scattered drawings become more reformed and detailed, definition of figures and structure and understanding of light and shadow appear more frequently within the art they walk down. Soon, realistic drawings of animals, of human faces, of landscapes begin to neatly adorn the otherwise bland wall, before they completely stopped altogether. Nico assumed that this would be the space for future artists to display their work, smiling at the fact that the very building was essentially an art form.

Their footsteps became less apparent as the sound of happily interacting children's voices start to cover up any other disturbance in the otherwise calm atmosphere. Two classrooms at the end of the hallway, with windowed doors, appeared to be the source of the commotion. Will peeked into both, and opened the one on the right. He stepped into the room, surveying the beautifully paint-splattered scene as Nico marveled at the sheer number of kids that were in the area. There were some who were painting each other's faces, some who were busily drawing and yelling about "dwinoswars" on the large rolls of paper presented to them, and others who were just running around and slinging paint at each other. Needless to say, it was a chaotic scenario, but somehow, the floor was relatively clean.

Almost immediately, a small, bouncy blonde girl ran over to Will, wiping her multicolored finger paint on Will's grey sweatpants and grinning up at him with a gleaming white smile. The two tiny adult teeth coming in where one's front teeth were just added to the angelic adorableness of Will's youngest sister.

"Callie, come on!" Will let out a frustrated groan as she giggled and smeared the drying paint into a larger, colorless deformed blob on the front of his pants. Callie then looked up, eyes wide open in innocence and pointed to his pants.

"Will… it looks like you pooped your pants!" She said, the mischief in her eyes matching those of one of the Stoll twins. The energy given off by the little girl had spread to even Nico, who usually, by this time of day, would be more than slightly drained of strength. Nico couldn't help but suppress a laugh at how ridiculous Will looked with a massive brown and blue stain on the front of his pants.

"Oh, not you too," Will sighed, thumping Nico on the side of the head. "Both of you need to leave me alone." Will turned to Callie with serious but playful eyes.

"Okay, Callie," Will started, Callie immediately sobering up and looking like a small blonde soldier awaiting orders from her commander. Will continued, "I need you to go find Daf and Cora for me, okay? We need to go back home so that you guys can have lunch and then get ready for school tomorrow. Don't forget to get all of your stuff so that we don't have to come back a second time. "

She nodded and immediately dashed towards the cubbies, where two other curly-haired blondes sat, sketching drawings of dogs and various other creatures, the most interesting of all being a pink ostrich… Or was that supposed to be a flamingo? Will smiled after her, a father-like pride shining on his face. Nico looked down once again at the blotch on Will's leg, and realized that it didn't bother Will in the slightest.

_He really is good with kids,_ Nico mused, then felt a light warmth spread across his cheeks as he absentmindedly thought, _and maybe when we have kids he'll be a really great dad._ He immediately jolted out of his little daydream, hoping that Will didn't notice Nico's momentarily flustered demeanor. He then scanned the room for anyone who might have even picked up on the notion. Needless to say, the very thought had made Nico very, very embarrassed. Nico quietly looked down at his and Will's intertwined fingers, and thought, _I hope that I never have to let go of him. _

Across the room, Nico's eyes met a familiar pair of eyes, kaleidoscopic irises matching the myriad of paint smears that adorned her cheeks. The brunette gently set down the child who was sitting on her lap, painting messy rainbows on her face, and rushed over to greet the pair.

"Hey, Will, Nico! You two are so adorable together, I never thought I'd see Nico holding anyone's hand in public, much less blushing and smiling while it happened," Piper grinned, wiping her hands on the paint smock that, Nico had to admit, even as a guy who was not into girls at all, she managed to look good in. And judging by the jealous stares pointed at Nico and Will from the other male counselors in the room, he wasn't the only one who thought that.

How ironic that the only guys who drew her attention today were (probably) the only two who didn't like girls?

"Nice to see you too, Piper," Nico said warmly, ignoring the second part of Piper's greeting. At that moment, the little girl who Piper was playing with earlier ran back over and attached herself to Piper's leg, much like the way Callie had attached herself to Will.

"These kids really like to stick to you guys, don't they?" Will chuckled, eyeing the girl who was happily clutching Piper's jean-clad leg. "Even Callie's gotten into the habit of doing it every time she wants to talk to me."

Piper laughed in response, gently prying the little girl's chubby arms off of her leg. "Yeah, technically we're not supposed to even touch them or let them touch us, but when the kids just run at you in a mob, there's not exactly a way to escape."

At that moment, Callie also ran up to Piper with her two sisters in tow, the former clutching onto Piper's other leg and the latter two running up to Will and showing him what they had made that day at the art school. Will smiled and praised them for their work, and the five of them said their goodbyes to Piper as they exited the art center.


	58. What Happens On The Porch Stays There

The sky had been turned a dull grey with puffy cumulonimbus clouds, a darkening atmosphere leading to the development of, yet another, darkening atmosphere. However, little rays of sunlight broke through cracks in the clouds, as the sunny days surged to regain their dominance over the situation. The light seemed to draw out the four Solaces' shadows, maybe even foreshadowing something ominous to come. But despite the worsening weather, the three girls continued to giggle and run ahead of Will and Nico on their way home.

Will and Nico looked at each other with a touch of fear in their eyes, looking around cautiously before reaching for each other's hand again, passing warmth between their contact in the midst of the chilly winter air. Just a few minutes ago, they had learned a harsh lesson, one that others no doubt had already experienced.

The five had climbed onto the bus, picking the seats in the middle of the bus so that they could get off with ease without blocking other people from exiting after them, and also so that the giggling girls wouldn't disturb too many of the passengers around them. Apparently they tended to be extremely loud after their classes, so Will suggested the little clump of seats and Nico wholeheartedly agreed.

During the bus ride, a wizened old woman had boarded the bus with the help of the polished white cane in her left hand, greeting the bus driver with much gusto before hobbling towards the seats. As she passed Will and Nico, who were, at the time, holding hands, Will flashed her his usual smile. She took a look at him, face crinkling up in pleasure, but then saw their intertwined hands. At that moment, her friendly façade dropped like a boulder plummeting off of a cliff.

"What are you doing?" She asked, disgust written all over her face as she lifted a gnarled finger to point at their hands. Nico looked at her in surprise, not sure how to answer. Will seemed to be at a loss for words as well. This had never happened before, but they were well aware what was going on. They had heard the stories, read the accounts on the internet. But they couldn't have in any way been prepared for the onslaught that was about to be charred into their memories

"You're disgusting." She finally shuddered, her wrinkled face contorting into a scowl. "You're one of the few that are going to condemn us all to hell! Don't you know that men and women were created to love each other, not those of the same gender? As I always say, it was Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve!"

Nico looked helplessly at Will, the unleashed hate from the old woman washing over him, but there was nothing Will could do. They exchanged a quick glance, the distraught expression on Will's face mimicking his own. Nico tentatively let go of Will's hand, drawing it into his own lap as he shrunk back into the bus seat, lowering his gaze to the bottom of the grey plastic of the chair in front of him. He noticed the rustling of khakis on vinyl and stiffened slightly as he realized that Will's sisters had turned around to watch the scene, uniform blue eyes peeking over top of the handles.

"What were your parents thinking when they decided they could raise children? I don't know what these people think they're doing these days. One simply cannot raise children without the influence of the Lord's word. They are the very reason why our society is falling to ruin! What kind of people could they be but murderers and drug addicts?"

A sharp, clear voice cut through the commotion. "Madam, would you please step out of the isle? There are other passengers who are also boarding the bus." The bus driver turned around with a frown on her face due to the delay to her schedule or possibly because she had overheard the demeaning conversation that had been going on. The lady's personality immediately changed, once again reverted to the sweet, elderly woman she was before.

"Yes, of course dearie, I just wanted to have a quick word with these two children here. I'll be on my way in a moment." She gave the now slightly perturbed driver a sickly sweet, tight-lipped smile, and started toddling her way back to the back of the bus, walking implement in hand. The other riders had a mix of reactions to the scene. Some smiled sympathetically at the boys, others turned away completely.

The safe world that Nico had built up around him had instantaneously shattered. He thought that everything was okay now, that people wouldn't continue to hate when someone was just a little different. The world that Bianca had built up around him had been nothing but a simply opaque barrier of glass, shattering the instant a point of pressure had been pressed against it. Nico had gone for years with that barrier, aware of hate towards his "look" and his personality, but this had been the first time ever that someone had targeted this aspect. The fact that, in fact, he was gay.

It couldn't have happened at another time, could it? Despite the fact that there had been no communication between him and Will about their preferences, they had still managed to come together. What if Will wasn't gay and Nico had still leaned in for that first kiss? Not everyone was okay with the way he and others were, and the realization had finally sunk in that he was very, very, vulnerable.

The rest of the ride went by in a blur, streets and outside scenery zooming past like they were never there at all. Nico stared out the window, absorbing everything and absolutely nothing at all. When your existence is being questioned, what is there to be noticed? What is processed when you're in such a state of realization that the entire world around is suddenly different despite remaining completely the same? It was like someone had ripped Bianca's words out of her mouth, strangled them, and burned them in the fiery inferno that had taken her from him.

Nico stumbled off of the bus after the Solace family members, feeling the too-familiar sensation of tears pricking his eyes and turned away from Will, who was looking towards Nico with worry. He quietly followed Will's paint-stained pants down the sidewalk and into Will's yard, the girls tumbling into the house to meet their over-enthusiastic dog. But before he reached the front steps, Nico stopped, brow furrowing as he felt the emotions overwhelm him again.

"W-Will? Could you… stay for just a bit?" Nico's words came out in a puff of white steam in the freezing winter air.

Will stopped with his hand on the doorknob, and quietly closed it so as to not disturb the girls from their giddiness. He leaned forwards and gently led Nico up the stairs to the rocking chair and sat him down on it, Will standing behind him. Nico felt Will's still-warm hands entangle themselves in his hair, slowly massaging his scalp and making his way down.

"I don't-…The lady-…Sh-she…" Nico tried to start the phrase that he wanted to say, but couldn't manage to fully form the words. He still couldn't even bring himself to express how distraught he felt to Will, let alone other people. Tears welled up in his eyes as he breathed in with a shudder, trying to regain his composure without upsetting Will too much.

Will felt the tremble under his fingertips as he unknotted the kinks in Nico's trapezius muscle, noting the strain that Nico had been exerting and just how tense he was all the time. Will himself was feeling off but had to keep himself together for Nico's sake. After all, words could be meant to hurt but they shouldn't always be taken to heart. However, Nico had clearly taken those words as a heavy blow, and sniffled as a result of the emotional strain he was under.

"Nico, you know what infuriates me? You were so happy before, and then that one person. One person out of the many we've met. Only one person we've ever met has been like this towards us. The rest of the people on that bus didn't have a single bone to pick with us." Will stopped and looked at Nico, who had tears welling up in his eyes. The blonde's demeanor immediately changed, a more vicious and indignant look taking over his face.

"Look what she's done to you! I can't bear to see you like this." Will pulled Nico's shoulders so that they faced each other. Yet, Nico continued to stare at the frozen wooden porch between their feet. "Nico. Look me in the eyes." Will demanded. "Please, just hear me out." Nico sniffled, and then took a full breath as his shoulders shook and looked up, darkness meeting with brightness. As much as Nico tried to keep himself open and listen to Will without crying, he couldn't completely control himself, and his bottom lip started quivering.

Will's sterner look softened, his love shining through his sky blue eyes like the ray of sun shining down on them through the dark clouds ahead. "Nico. Repeat after me. You are stronger than this. We. Are. Stronger than this. We'll hold through everything that comes between us and keep going on stronger. I know this because I love you more than I have ever loved anything before. I want the best for you and I will do my best to protect you from everything that comes your way to harm you."

Nico felt Will's earnest words sink through the layers of sadness and fear that had built up since the incident, and felt the icy layers within him start to melt away. His brow unfurrowed, and the joy that had been almost completely depleted from his dark chocolate eyes started to fill up with the mirth that Will always instilled in him. In a moment of complete happiness, he threw his arms around Will and pulled him tight.

Nico let go, looking up into Will's eyes, and pulled him down to match their lips together, breathing in Will's scent and feeling the warmth of Will's body flowing into him again as Nico was brought back to life by the ever-constant sparks that ran through him with every touch. He felt Will's lashes gently brush against his flushing cheekbones as he exhaled, warm breath tingling against Nico's frozen nose.

Suddenly, they heard a creak as the old rocking chair they were leaning against cracked underneath their combined weight. Nico fell with an "oof" on top of the shattered oak boards, pulling down Will with him. Will immediately jumped up and pulled Nico off of the pile, brushing him off and checking if he was okay. Nico looked up at Will, who had a concerned look on his face.

Nico laughed it off and pushed open the door, saying, "Maybe we should continue this somewhere more comfortable." Will followed cautiously, eyeing what used to be a rocking chair, and chuckled, "I'll have to figure out how to explain this one…" closing the door behind them before jumping onto the couch.

"Are you sure you're alright though?" Will asked as Nico pushed him down onto the couch and fitted his cheek into the crook of Will's neck, to which a very enthusiastic Nico nodded yes.

"If you're not okay, I can make it up to you by taking you out somewhere for real this time." Will said, to which Nico immediately pushed himself up and replied, "Never mind, I'm not okay. Take me out again."

Will smiled once again, the joy and satisfaction in his disheveled form making Nico's chest flutter. Nico wrapped his arms around Will again, hair spilling out over Will's shoulder. Tears of happiness, instead of pain, rolled down his face as Nico said, "I'm so lucky to have you."


End file.
